


Scarlet Red (Love Live! Survival Game AU)

by Riria_Snow



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: CYaRon, Character Death, Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gen, Gulity Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological, Survival, Survival Game, aqours - Freeform, azalea - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2019-11-08 16:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17985038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riria_Snow/pseuds/Riria_Snow
Summary: Kurosawa Dia, the older sister of Kurosawa Ruby, has a deep connection with her sister and receives "telepathy screams" when her sister is in need of help.When Dia awakes in an unfamiliar forest, hearing telepathy screams from her younger sister and finding out she's stuck in a killing game, she resolves to find Ruby.Meanwhile, the rest of Aqours set different goals and different coping methods for themselves when they learnt they are in the same situation.As tensions begin rising and their sanity decreasing with every moment stayed in the game, will they succeed in making it out alive? Will they find out who the mastermind is and put an end to it all? The story begins.





	1. Change of Clothes

**Author's Note:**

> **Your favourite characters might die in this AU.  
> **  
>  But always remember they will always be alive canonically ^^

She woke up with a jolt, and was overwhelmed when she finally absorbed her surroundings. Something was wrong, she was not where she had been.

She was lost, cold and alone, surrounded by tall trees and greenery.

What happened to her warm and cosy bedroom?

Wasn’t she just gushing over her uniform a moment ago before she fell asleep on her bed?

How did she end up here?

Was this a dream?

She pinched herself and felt pain. It wasn’t a dream.

 

She touched the soft fabric of her clothes and felt the familiar texture of her favourite uniform; she could remember each different one just from their texture; and let out a sigh of relief and joy.

At least she had her uniform!

She smiled and played with one side of her grey twin ponytails she had tied before she went to bed--- it seemed that she had been trying a cute hairstyle to fit with the uniform before she finally passed out from exhaustion on her bed without realising she hadn’t change out or untied her hair.

She looked around her and saw a bag.

Inside laid two guns.

She jerked backwards in horror.

Those were dangerous!

Who could have left them there?!

She forced herself to take deep breaths and calm down before inching back to the bag and checking whether there was anything else in it.

She ran her hands through the inside of the bag and felt paper.

She took it out and found a tiny note.

 

“Kill or be killed. Be the sole survivor and any wish you make will be granted. The choice is yours.”

 

She threw the note instantly. What did she just read?! It couldn’t be true right?! But if it was just a prank, who on earth would make a joke like-

 

Before her thoughts could fully form, a shadow shot past her.

She was stunned and couldn’t move, and right when she was about to fully process what was happening before her, a familiar face appeared in her line of sight.

 

“Follow me quietly and don’t try to escape and you will not be harmed.”

The familiar girl muttered, her dark blue side ponytail swaying slightly in the wind.

 

The grey haired twin ponytailed stared at her captor for a moment.

Though the girl in front of her was fully covered by her dark black cloak, she could recognise her instantly from her prominent nose, sharp rose pink eyes and most importantly, her signature bun at the right side of her hair.

 

“Yoshiko! What are you doing here-“

“There’s no time for idle chat. Either you obey, or you get hurt.”

“But aren’t we friends? Why are you doing this-“

“It looks like you leave me with no choice, You.”

 

Yoshiko sped away into the shadows again, before reappearing behind You and aiming a slash at her body.

You managed to dodge just barely as she moved forwards on instinct.

“Yoshiko wait! We should talk things out! There’s still things I don’t know yet and you’re behaving so weirdly! It’s not fair if I had to make a decision of what to do when I don’t fully know what’s going on!”

“Fairness, justice, those don’t exist in this game. Another thing that doesn’t exist… is friendship.”

“Game? What-“

Yoshiko landed a blow fast with her kunai, it made contact with You’s uniform, making a tear on it.

“NO!” You exclaimed before landing on the ground.

She recovered from her fall and stared at the cut on her uniform.

Her mind went blank.

 

Blood rose to her ears.

Her favourite uniform.

Her most precious belonging.

The uniform she gushed about every night.

The uniform that meant the most to her out of everything in the whole world, the uniform that was unique and irreplaceable.

Torn.

A slash.

An irremovable marking.

Tainted.

Hurt.

A perfection made imperfect with just one.

Slash.

One.

Mistake.

 

You snapped. She could not stop the words from flowing in her brain, flowing like a continuous stream.

“My perfect uniform, my perfect uniform, MY PERFECT UNIFORM- YOU WILL PAY.”

 

You grabbed a gun from the bag that laid near her. She turned back around and begun shooting in a frenzy.

Yoshiko sensed the frightening change of atmosphere and made a run away.

You had lost it and there was nothing that could stop her now.

She disappeared into the shadows, leaving You in her frenzy.

Soon, the bullets ran out and You had no choice but to stop.

Realising the absence of the dark blue haired girl, she calmed down, though still hyperventilating.

 

She looked through her bag again and pulled out a second set of sailor uniform.

This time, it was a black one, contrasting the white one she was wearing right now.

It was unscarred, and perfect, and she would make sure it stayed that way.

 

She changed into the dark sailor uniform, and dropped her ponytails. She had a better hairstyle for this uniform.

She reached to the left side of her hair and tied a low ponytail. She then stood confident in her signature salute pose.

 

“Turn towards the future, full steam ahead.”

 

You had changed her clothes.


	2. Strong Sisterly Bond

“Big sister… big sister! …HELP!!!”

“Ruby? Ruby!! Don’t worry! Your big sister’s coming!”

 

A certain black haired girl woke up screaming.

 

Bad dream? No… whenever this happens, something must be up.

 

The black haired girl began to panic.

What if something had happened to Ruby?!

She needed to go this instant!

She scrambled around, looking for things she needed to bring along with her.

 

The big sister of Ruby, Dia Kurosawa, has a certain special bond with her little sister.

 

Whenever her little sister felt that she was in danger or unsafe, Dia would begin to get “Telepathic Screams”, as she calls it, that told her Ruby was in need of help.

 

It could happen during the day, at night, and it could happen even when Dia was far away from Ruby.

 

She used to think it was just a bad dream or that she was overthinking during the day, but whenever she pushed them away, things didn’t end well as her telepathic screams really came through.

 

Sometimes they were detailed, sometimes they were vague about what happened.

It really put Dia off as she wished it could tell her more sometimes.

 

This time, it was really vague. It didn’t give her any information of where Ruby was or what happened to her and it was just Ruby crying for help, her screams coming from seemingly nowhere.

 

Realising she had no clear information to lead her on, Dia stopped her scrambling, sighed, and leaned backwards for a bit, both hands supporting her.

 

She decided if she wanted to find Ruby and figure out what her telepathic scream was trying to tell her, she should start by figuring out where she was and how she ended up here.

 

 

First thing first --- she noted that there was a brown bag lying next to her. She did not recall ever having one like it. She reached out for it and begun digging out its insides.

 

There was a dagger, a small note, a change of clothes, and her phone.

 

“Kill or be killed. Be the sole survivor and any wish you make will be granted. The choice is yours.”

 

It was obvious whoever the person behind this wanted, judging from the written note and having a dagger placed near her.

 

Dia analysed the note.

It was light brown, and the size of her palm. The words that were written were written neatly and carefully, almost as if it was printed. Whoever was behind this seemed to be an organised person, or someone who could write well.

 

She put aside the note and checked her phone.

Her photos, videos, applications were all gone.

Someone had removed them.

She tried texting and making a call.

Failure. It seemed the phone was near useless.

 

She checked again to see if she had missed anything out.

An icon of a mid-shot silhouette of a person stood at the bottom left of the screen.

It wasn’t something she had in her phone.

She tapped on it and was brought to a screen explaining the situation she was in and the rules regarding it.

 

**You are now involved in a survival game which only ends when just one is standing.**

**The rules of the game are as follows:**

  * ****You are to kill the other participants in any means you can.****


  * **Only the sole survivor gets to leave the game.**


  * **The survivor’s any one wish will be granted.**


  * **All applications, photos, or whatever used to be in their phone, would be restored once one leaves the game.**



 

 

A survival game… she knew something was off the moment she got here.

Whoever was behind this, she resolved to give them a piece of her mind, the second she found out who they were.

But of course, finding and protecting Ruby came first.

 

She continued to explore the application, and was brought to a screen with a list of names.

Names of… all the Aqours members she had performed with countless times.

The list included her name as well, and she clicked on it.

 

**Kurosawa Dia**

**Serious and hardworking.**

**Big fan of Muse, especially Eli Ayase.**

**Skilled at playing the Yamatogoto.**

**Skilled at Kitsuke.**

**She is from a well-known family who owns a number of companies including real estate, entertainment, human resources and restaurant management.**

 

How unnerving. It ticked Dia off that her personal information was shown without her permission. At least she knew who were also involved now.

She placed the phone back into the bag and inspected the set of clothes.

Long sleeves, a vest, a belt holder for the dagger, and shorts.

Included with it was a set of brown boots. Practical, neat and straightforward.

The mastermind knows her well.

 

Figuring she might as well use them in case it may help her in terms of self-defense later, she changed into them.

After changing her clothes and shoes, Dia tied her hair into a low ponytail for good measure, placed the items back into the bag, and took it along with her.

Now that that was settled, she should try to figure out more things by exploring her location.

 

 

She stood and observed her surroundings.

Proceeding with caution is crucial when placed in an unknown environment.

The air was dense and humid, and Dia could tell that it was sometime in the middle of the day.

However, the dense foliage above and the trees that seemed to tower above everything covered the sun, leaving her in a misty, semi-dark atmosphere.

Silence filled the air with little creaks heard as tiny critters crawled past a layer of dried leaves on the ground.

There didn’t seem to be anything out of place.

 

Dia proceeded on to look for clues.

Eventually, she saw something that seemed to be… neatly organised for something.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The noise came from Dia’s phone. She took it out and saw the name “Mastermind” calling. She picked it up.

 

“Oh my~! It seems like you’ve found one of the challenges I’ve set up for you all! How interesting~ You want to know how to get out of here without killing anyone right? Well, that’s gonna be tough, but I can give you some clues to it! That is~ If you pass the challenge~! Happy figuring out what it is!”

 

The call ended. Dia stood silent for a while, processing whatever just happened.

The call was from the “Mastermind” and the voice sounded like it was modified to hide their true identity.

And being able to set up challenges like these and knowing when she finds it… the mastermind must have been observing them, and they were annoyingly crafty.

 

“A way to escape without playing the game? A fishy motive, but it may be worth a shot. If I can figure out an escape route and manage to find Ruby, we’d be safe...”

Dia thought to herself and begun to inspect the set up.

Rocks were arranged in an unnaturally organised way on the ground, seeming like a pattern when looked at from a far.

On one of them, laid a note.

Dia picked it up.

 

“Once you stand on a rock, all the animals in the area will lose their minds and attack you. Survive for thirty minutes and you will have passed this challenge and be rewarded with a clue. You are only allowed to be in contact with any rocks in the area. Once you touch the ground, you will be disqualified and a certain punishment would be given.”

 

“That doesn’t sound too hard… hopefully. If the animals refer to the tiny ones I’ve seen so far, that is. Moving only on rocks… sounds like a limitation. If it’s just thirty minutes though… surely nothing bad would happen.”

Dia pushed away her doubts. She was Kurosawa Dia, and she will not let anything beat her.

A challenge like this… she will overcome it. By will or by force.

 

Dia pushed back one side of her bang, took a deep breath and stood on one rock.

Sure enough, critters started to scurry towards her and attacking with their teeth and claws.

Their eyes were growing blood red, and they seemed out of control.

Dia shoved them away with the blunt side of her dagger.

 

“Right, Ruby wouldn’t want me hurting innocent creatures and it is an injustice to do so without reason. Least I can do is fend them off and hope the challenge ends soon. As for movement… I can just stand where I am if nothing big comes.”

 

This continued for 10 minutes.

Then another 8 minutes.

And another 5 minutes.

She was nearing the end, she knew it. Just a little bit more, and she would pass this challenge.

 

Then suddenly, a huge roar echoed, sending shivers down her spine.

A giant golden maned animal was charging towards her, its large teeth bared.

It was a lion.

 

Just when things were going so well.

The greatest obstacle arose from out of the blue, at the very last minute.

Was this where it all ended?

Was the challenge never meant to be passed in the first place and she had made the silliest mistake to take it up?

For the first time in her life, Dia blanked out.

She never expected this change of event.

She never would have thought she’d have to face such a deadly creature in her whole life.

She-

 

Then it came, jaws wide, saliva droplets staining Dia’s face.

But just before the creature’s mouth could close, Dia jerked her head backwards and bought her hand forward into its mouth, dagger held vertically.

The saliva droplets of the beast had snapped Dia back into reality.

The creature’s jaws closed down strongly on the sharp edge of the dagger and blood begun to spurt out rapidly.

The creature winced and begun roaring frantically.

It then begun to slash about angrily.

Dia evaded them and moved to the furthest rock away from it and the time begun to count down.

 

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

0.

 

Thirty minutes was up, and she had managed to survive. The beast she had injured recovered its senses and ran away. The critters in the forest begun to return to their homes.

 

Dia’s phone rang.

“Congratulations Kurosawa Dia~! You’ve passed the challenge! And as promised, you shall now be given a clue that would help you escape without playing the game~! If you can figure out what it means that is~! Hehe~ It’s simple really, the clue is… close your eyes.”

 

The phone call ended.

Dia balled her hands in rage.

Close her eyes?! Did the mastermind think she was stupid? Close her eyes and get killed? Close her eyes and just sleep and she would be out of here? Ridiculous! This is an absolute NO NO.

Surviving a deadly challenge just for a lame excuse of a clue? She would never take any bait the mastermind gave. Ever. Again.

She took in a deep breath. Exhaled. And repeated.

The sky was growing dark and it was getting late.

Dia decided she would figure out more clues as to where Ruby was tomorrow.

At least she figured out why she was here and obtained a substantial amount of useful information today.

 

She looked around and spotted some bushes which would do well for cover for now. It wasn’t much but she could spend the night somewhere hidden.

She made herself comfortable behind the bushes and went to sleep.

Funny if she wakes up and she was really out of here. She thought half angrily and half disbelievingly to herself.

 

She touched the red ribbon tied on her left arm. “Ruby… I’ll be there for you soon.”

She gave herself a final reassurance before closing her eyes.

Soon she gave in to a light restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Edited grammar mistakes and improved some expressions/descriptions of Chapter 1 & 2 with help from @dewberry.you on Instagram~ ^^ Thank you sm for the help <3 I'm willing to listen if anyone has any feedback too, I really appreciate it and it helps me get better at writing~ ^^


	3. A Promise Made

Trapped, locked up, lonely. Ruby was feeling distressed.

“Big sister...” she sobbed as she touched the red ribbon tied to her neck.

It was an item her big sister had given to her to give her reassurance whenever she was not with her. Right now, it helped a lot in calming her down and giving her hope.

 

Things hadn’t exactly been going well ever since she ended up here.

She was lost and confused when she woke up in this unfamiliar forest.

After checking the bag that laid near her, wandering around for a while, and roughly figuring out what was going on, someone appeared out of nowhere and knocked her out.

 

Now, she was locked up in a cage made out of thorns.

Her captor stood in front, vigilant. The hood of her dark cloak laid on her shoulders, giving her a better view of her right and left. She was seemingly looking around for any signs of anyone approaching.

 

Ruby stared at her captor, unsure of what she was thinking.

Her captor had been acting really strangely, bombarding her with questions once she regained her consciousness and then refusing to let her go after.

 

It felt really strange, compared to the view she had of her when she had hung out with her before this survival game started.

What happened to the awkward, misunderstood and quirky dark blue haired girl she knew?

The girl with her signature hair bun who claimed to be a fallen angel named “Yohane” and would correct anyone who called her “Yoshiko” instead?

Right, something was up, as she had been calling her Yoshiko and she didn’t even falter.

 

She thought they were friends.

She thought she would listen and talk out whatever was on her mind with her.

She guessed she was wrong and Yoshiko would never share her inner feelings with anyone.

 

Ruby felt like crying.

She wanted her big sister.

She wanted Hanamaru.

 

Before she was caught, she had been able to talk to Hanamaru and they had planned to look for Dia together so they could all figure out a way out together.

Now that she was caught, that plan was sent down the drains.

She wished things didn’t end up this way.

 

If only Dia and Hanamaru was here.

They would cheer her up and give her a big hug at times like these.

Then all her worries would fade away, everything would be alright, and she would be able to smile and be happy again.

 

Her low tied twin tails drooped as tears begun to form in her eyes.

Her grip on her red ribbon tighten and she thought of things that made her happy: lollipops, sunshine and rainbows, the smile of her big sister, Hanamaru being a klutz, singing and dancing happily as an idol.

 

The feeling of comfort soon resurfaced and Ruby told herself she could do it.

Doing her best, doing her rubesty!

Yes, she could do this by herself, she could be strong!

Hanamaru would be safe once she finds big sister!

And they would definitely come save her eventually! They would find a way out together, just like they planned!

 

Everything would be fine, and it seemed like Yoshiko would do nothing to harm her.

 

And if anyone tried to attack, Yoshiko would probably fend them off and she would be safe. Yes, things will be alright, and she just needed to wait and stay strong!

 

“You can do this, Ruby!” Ruby muttered to herself in encouragement, doing her signature rubesty move, putting her arms together with clutched fists and pushing them outwards.

 

 

 

Hanamaru was lost in the woods.

Her light brown braided twin tails swayed as she looked to her left and right.

She clutched the book in her arms tightly. She did not know where to go. She did not like this.

 

If only she hadn’t been separated from Ruby, they would be on their way to find Dia and then they would be able to find a way out together.

Now, she felt lonely and helpless.

 

Just then, she saw a shadow approaching her.

She quickly turned around, attempting to run away but she tripped on a small stone and fell.

 

Her yellow long sleeved school uniform now had dirt on it.

She got up, adjusted her glasses, and begun dusting the dirt off.

She really was a klutz. She chided herself.

 

The figure who was approaching her was now right behind her.

She turned around, having no options to escape now.

 

Then, she recognised the figure instantly.

Grey haired with a ponytail, wearing an unusual black school uniform…?

But she was sure of it: It was You Watanabe! One of the members of Aqours who she had performed countless live shows with!

She was saved! Now she’ll have someone she knows with her and she wouldn’t be helpless or alone anymore! She’ll be able to find Ruby and Dia! They would all be able to find a way out together!

 

“You!! Maru was so worried zura! Maru’s so glad to have found you zura! We can find-“ Hanamaru begun, but was soon cut off by a loud bang.

You had guns.

“Zura?!” Hannamaru exclaimed in shock, taking a step back.

“You. You dirtied your school uniform.” You said darkly.

“It was an accident zura! Maru didn’t mean it! Maru’s really clumsy and falls down a lot and-“

“Uniforms are everything. They are precious treasures which deserves utmost care and love. Anyone who doesn’t treat them as such, aren’t worthy of wearing them. And. Deserve. To. Perish.”

 

You began to shoot.

Hanamaru reacted just in time and started running away.

She needed to find cover!

This wasn’t the You she knew!

This You had gone insane!

If she couldn’t get away from her, she knew she would be dead. Now if only she could find the perfect shelter-

 

Just then, a blue curly haired ponytail flashed pass overhead of her.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around.

The girl she saw had kicked You on her shoulder, making her topple over and dropping her guns.

She knew that girl!

It was Kanan, one of her sub unit members of Azalea!

She was rescued!

She stared for a moment longer before she realised what her rescuer was wearing.

…a bikini?!

 

Hanamaru blushed and let out a tiny squeal.

“Hanamaru?” Kanan tilted her head towards her direction in slight confusion at her reaction.

Then, following Hanamaru’s line of sight, she looked at herself, and realised what she was wearing.

“Oh! This! Err, I was just spending a good ol’ time near a lake just now, enjoying the waters so erm-” Kanan started, slightly embarrassed.

 

“You disrupted my fight of justice, Kanan Matsuura! You have no right to interfere!” You spoke as she recovered from her fall.

Kanan quickly regained her composure and focused back on You.

“What fight of justice? You’re hurting Hanamaru! I couldn’t just stand there and watch you do that! I had to stop you! You could’ve killed her!”

“She deserves to be killed! She treated her uniform with total disrespect! Anyone who does that deserves to die as payment for their sins!”

“That’s stupid! You value a uniform more than the life of someone you’ve spent years performing lives with?! What’s gotten into you? This isn’t like you!”

You began to reach for her guns.

But just before she could get it, Kanan pushed her away and threw the guns to Hanamaru.

“Hanamaru, catch!”

“Zura?!!” Hanamaru exclaimed in surprise and ran around, trying to judge where the guns would land.

She reached out her hands and the guns dropped a little bit to her right instead.

She quickly picked it up and pleaded she would not mess up in any way.

 

These objects were new to her--- she knew nothing about technology after all --- it scared her that it was dangerous and if she made any wrong move, she or someone might die or get hurt!

She sweated profusely, unsure of what to do now.

She looked back at Kanan for guidance.

 

“Throw them into the river right up ahead! Make sure it goes out of sight so You can’t retrieve them!”

“No you won’t-“ You struggled but Kanan had her pinned down hard.

 

Hanamaru turned around and dashed to the river.

Once she reached it, she dropped the guns into the river and the fast waters took the guns downstream.

Hanamaru made sure they went out of sight before she quickly returned to where Kanan and You was.

 

“Good job Hanamaru! You, now you’re left unarmed. You can’t and shouldn’t hurt anyone anymore. I’m giving you a chance, leave and reflect on yourself and don’t try harming anyone over something like this again. They’re your friends and they should be worth more than any uniform you can find in the world!”

Kanan released You from her grips.

You stumbled away and gave Kanan a look of scorn.

“You’re the one who doesn’t understand! This isn’t even your fight in the first place! And you shouldn’t have butted in!” You paused for a while, taking a deep breath. “…But that’s okay, I have more important things to deal with, and more important debts to settle with a certain someone, so I’d leave you two for now. …But our deal hasn’t been settled yet, and I’d be sure to settle it with you two in the future, mark my words!”

With that, You left, heading downstream of the river, seemingly going to find her guns.

 

Kanan approached Hanamaru and gave her a big hug and patted her head.

“Huggu! Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Mmm, Maru is fine zura! And it’s all thanks to Kanan, zura! Thank you zura!”

“That’s good, I’m glad to hear you’re okay! I was so worried, I wish I could’ve arrived earlier.”

“It’s okay zura, Kanan came at the right time! Maru wasn’t hurt at all and Maru is thankful for that zura!”

 

Kanan smiled and held Hanamaru’s hand.

“Let’s find a place to rest for tonight, shall we? It’s getting late, and I bet you must be tired after all that’s happened.”

“Yes, let’s go zura! Maru is so glad she doesn’t have to be alone anymore zura!” Hanamaru said cheerfully, then added in a slightly embarrassed way, “…Maru thinks you should also… ermm…get dressed zura.”

Her last three words were in a whisper, but Kanan seemed to have got it as she laughed it off, with a slight blush on her face.

“Hahahaha! Yes, yes. I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking about what I was wearing. It just felt so comfortable and I soon forgot that I was wearing this… I’d be sure to dress properly later, yea?”

Hanamaru smiled, averting her gaze. Kanan was quirky.

But she was also caring, and dependable. Hanamaru enjoyed her company.

She tighten her grip on Kanan’s hand and together they walked and searched around before they finally found a small cave to stay the night.

 

Kanan changed into a short sleeved shirt and shorts, and tied her hair into a bun, ready to sleep.

She sat down and got into her sleeping position, making herself comfortable beside Hanamaru.

Hanamaru hugged Kanan and she felt a familiar sense of comfort.

The two cuddled and soon fell into deep slumber.

 

Tomorrow was gonna be another long day for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bikini Kanan as a reference to the amount of bikini Kanan cards there were in the Love Live:School Idol Festival game X'D When I was designing Kanan's clothes, I thought it would be funny if she just went into the survival game in bikini-


	4. Differences and Similarities

“Everything will be alright! I’ll save everyone!”

That was what she told herself when she found herself stuck in this game. That was what she always told herself.

And right now, she was filled with reassurance as she had just finished a challenge set out by the mastermind.

What’s a mastermind anyway? She wondered. Perhaps it’s just a brain with legs walking around and calling everyone on phone because it had nothing better to do.

 

The mastermind had told her to make use of her given weapon--- a sword looking like dagger---- to make a cut on as many trees as she could. But there’s a catch--- the trees would come to life and use its branches to swipe her away.

She figured the trees must have felt hurt when she had made a cut on them, but she had no other choice!

The mastermind had told her they would give her a useful piece of information which would lead her to an escape route! This would allow her to save everyone!

 

BEEP BEEP

Woah! Was that a roadrunner?! She didn’t know those live in forests too! Hey, why was her pocket vibrating? Was an earthquake going on inside there-

Oh! It’s the mastermind! They must be calling to give her her clue!

 

“Congratulations Takami Chika~! As expected of the leader of Aqours, to have completed the challenge with no hesitation! And as promised, I’ll be giving you the clue to your escape route~ The clue is look around you~! And that’s it~ Good luck in figuring it out~! Hehe~! “

 

Chika stood still for a while.

Look around her? She was already always looking around her though? She would see trees and trees and well, trees around her. Was there anything else she should be looking out for? Maybe grass? She did not really look down much, she guessed.

 

If only oranges grew in this forest. She was sooooo hungry.

Hey wait, what was the clue the mastermind gave her again? Oh well! She decided it would come back to her soon, so she wouldn’t stress herself out about it now!

 

 

She flipped her tiny orange haired ponytail and turned away from the place of her challenge, only to be met with a certain long, black haired girl.

 

The girl was wearing a singlet like thing, just like hers--- what was it called again? A vase? That really sounds like the container thing that you use to put flowers in--- what a weird name for clothes, but all she knows is that it looks really cool either way!

 

The girl was also wearing short boots--- a contrast from her own long ones. They really were similar looking though!

 

After making much clothes comparisons, she concluded that both were really cool either way and no one lost the fashion contest that round.

 

“Chika. “

“Chika.”

“CHIKA.”

“EHHHHH??!!?!”

Chika jerked wide awake. She was daydreaming again. What a daydream warrior she was. She realized she and the girl had been staring at each other for quite a while.

 

“Have you seen Ruby?”

“Ruby?”

Chika thought for a moment. Ruby, that’s a gemstone right? Nope she hasn’t seen those!

“Ehhh…? No? Why?”

“Ruby wasn’t with me with I woke up, so I’m looking for her.”

Oh! She meant Kurosawa Ruby, her little sister. How could she forget the red haired little girl who was also a member of her sub unit, CYaRon? She hit herself lightly on her head with a curled finger. But her answer was still no, since she hadn’t seen anyone since she woke up.

Ah yes! That reminded her, if she was going to get out with everyone, she should ask for help too! Surely Dia would help?

“Dia! Let’s team up and look for Ruby-chan and the rest together!”

“…I’m sorry, but I would politely refuse that offer.”

“Eh?”

“Ruby is more important right now. Correction. Ruby is my most important priority.”

“But we would be stronger if we teamed up and more likely to protect Ruby from anything once we find her!”

“No. Chika. You’re reckless and dense and that would cost Ruby her life if I teamed up with you. You would only cause trouble, and I would rather not take that risk.”

“But Dia-“

 

Chika reached out to pull on Dia’s long sleeve, but was swiped away by Dia, and she found herself pushed and pinned to the ground by her soon after.

 

“I’m also willing to fight anyone who gets in my way.”

Dia hovered over her menacingly with a dagger in her hand.

Chika froze up, feeling a chill run down her spine. She could sense a terrifying atmosphere from the black haired girl, something that felt really off. And a feeling she had not felt before begun forming… she felt scared. The reality of the situation she was in begun to sink in. The weight of life and death---that once you failed, it couldn’t be re-tackled like the other obstacles she had faced in her life.

 

Dia released Chika from the weight of her foot, and begun to walk away.

Chika propped herself up with a hand. She stared breathlessly at the girl walking away. Dia, the girl she could always depend on in Aqours. Dia, the girl who was fierce and strict, but only because she cared for everyone’s well-being… what happened to her?

 

To leave just like that, the Dia she knew wouldn’t have done that. The Dia she knew would have wanted to make sure everyone was safe, that everyone was unharmed, and made sure everyone got out safely. But now… all she seemed to care about… was her own little sister.

 

…But what about everyone else? …what about her? What about the two years of lives they had performed together as Aqours? All the time they spent practicing and even going out on field trips… did that mean nothing now?

 

For once in her life, Chika felt… doubtful.

 

What would the rest of Aqours think, if not to get out safely together?

 

 

 

 

Mari woke up with a start. “SHINNNYYYY~!”

…except that it wasn’t shiny. Why was everything around her so dark and foggy? Did she need an eye checkup? Was her vision getting too blurry and she needed to get glasses soon?

 

She soon snapped out of her worries, when she realized she wasn’t in her bedroom.

 

“oh… my… GAWD!!”

 

What was she doing out in the open suddenly? Who dragged her out of bed?! Was she kidnapped?! Alright, Ohara Mari! Calm down, it’s time to play detective!

 

She turned around and saw a small bag at her side. Ooo, nice! Was this a present? She love surprises!

But wait- It could be a trap! Maybe she should hold the bag far away from her and then open it!

 

She stood up and extended her hands while holding the bag and started to open it.

Nothing happened.

She figured that it must be safe then. She pulled it closer to her and started to inspect its contents.

 

There was a small note, her phone and… ooo! Interesting clothes!

She changed into the new clothes. Priorities straight, the note and her phone can wait till later! Right now, there were more interesting things to try on--- ooo like these new glasses!

She had wondered whether she had needed glasses but she didn’t expect to get them so soon! Oh, it looked like sunglasses--- hey! She could see so much better with these! It was less foggy, and she could see little details, like tiny critters behind bushes- wait a second. Behind bushes? That’s too high definition! Is this the new fashion trend?

Nonetheless, she really liked it. It was really cool having these glasses and the clothes made her look like a spy--- beautiful~!

There were a few items already equipped on her clothes too, she would try them out later. She reached out for the note.

 

“Kill or be killed. Be the sole survivor and any wish you make will be granted, blah blah, that sounds like a survival game!”

If she remembered correctly from the various shows she watched, the things she got must have been given to her with the intention for her to eliminate the others.

 

A feeling of dread rose from her stomach.

She didn’t like the sound of that.

 

She looked into her phone.

The games she usually played in her phone were gone! Did she made transfer codes? How was she going to recover her accounts like this! She was the number one player of the Love Live: School Idol Festival app too… Who did this?!

Mari pouted angrily while looking at her phone screen, before she noticed that there was an application she had not seen before installed in her phone. She clicked on it.

It brought her to a screen explaining the situation she was in and the rules regarding it.

So she was right! It was a survival game! And judging from the list of names displayed on the app, the rest of Aqours was involved in it as well.

 

“This is nooo good...”

She had to find a way to get everyone out of here.

But she would need help. …That’s it! She should find the other members of her subunit!

At times like this, Gulity Kiss would be a big help, with Yoshiko’s technology skills, they would be able to gather more information… and Riko would be able to back them up and keep them in check.

If she were to find Dia and Kanan instead well… Dia would probably push her away and Kanan would like to save everyone, but probably not in the way she had in mind.

If she could gather Gulity Kiss, they would be a small group, easier to get out of the game without being noticed immediately. And if they worked fast after that, they would have a chance to save everyone.

It was a big risk, but compared to the possibility of getting everyone out together at once, it was a safer and more reasonable risk.

 

She got up, stood there, and started looking around. She decided if she wanted to find the others, searching around would be a start.

But even with her enhanced vision glasses on, she could see no one within sight. She gave up and sat back down.

 

Oh well~ Finding the others could wait right~?

She pondered about more important things, such as how cool the items on her clothes looked! Right, if she could figure out how those worked too, maybe that would give her a better lead!

 

Just then, a ringing sounded from her phone.

She picked it up.

 

“My~ My~ Having trouble looking for your comrades? Guess I’ll humor you a bit~ If you want to know where one of them are, let’s see you try a challenge I’ve set up for you~! Pass and the answer you seek shall be revealed! What do you think~? Hehe~”

“You sound strange. You’re not my manager right?”

“…Did you even read the name before picking up the call?”

“Nope! So what’s the challenge anyway~?”

“How rude---why don’t you figure that out yourself~? It’s just a few centimeters away from you, I’ve already anticipated that you probably wouldn’t walk far after waking up---not that you walked at all-, so I’ve set it up really close to you. It’s a shame that you didn’t realize it sooner though! Even had to make me give you a call eh?”

With that, the call ended.

 

Mari stood up and walked a few centimeters away from where she was, and indeed, she found the challenge--- a small note specifically.

 

“Capture three critters. One of them would tell you the route.”

That sounded pretty simple. But… tell? Critters can talk? Oh well, as long as this helps her find out where Riko and Yoshiko are, then it’s worth giving a try.

 

She looked at the items equipped to her clothes. Net capturing traps, stun traps, sleeping gas traps- Weren’t all those harmless traps? Did the Mastermind not want her to kill others? Or do they expect her to come up with something on her own?

 

That’s fine, she didn’t want to hurt anyone either way, and with these, she would be able to get herself out of a pinch if needed.

 

She started placing some traps around the area.

“There… There… and done~! Now I just have to wait somewhere hidden…”

A few moments passed and it was soooo boooooring waiting around at the same spot so eventually she fell asleep.

 

 

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Mari woke up, hearing the noises of critters. Her plan must’ve been a success!

She walked towards the location of her trap and saw that she caught more than three critters. Welp, the note didn’t say there was a maximum limit so this should do~ So which critter was going to tell her the route? Maybe she could try communicating with them?

“So critters, which one of you know where Riko or Yoshiko are?”

“Squeak!”

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

“Squeak, squeak!”

Figures. Mari stared unimpressed at her loot of critters. She sat down right in front of them.

“What should I do now?” she muttered to herself.

“Head east.”

“…But I’m lazyyyy and tiredddd~! Wait a second, who said that?”

She glanced at the group of critters and met eyes with one who had red eyes.

“I did”

“Oh my GAWD! You can talk?!”

“I’m a robot.”

“…Oh.”

 

The one second of her amazement faded away the moment she heard that line. Oh well~ At least she knew where to go now right? Time to get her lazy butt up and head east then!

And that’s what she did.

 

 

She soon spotted a familiar red haired girl. It was Riko!

“Riri~!! Hey there, babe~!” Mari rushed over, about to give the girl a hug.

“Eh? … EHHHH??!!” Riko dodged quickly, her low braided ponytail following along after her.

 

Mari landed face flat on the ground. She got up and turned back towards Riko.

“Aww~ Why did you moved away~”

“Who wouldn’t?! Your get up looks like a mysterious spy! And what’s with those glasses?!”

“Aww, I thought it was cool~” Mari inched closer and hugged Riko with one arm. She fidgeted her glasses and made a duck face. “And aren’t these glasses just sexy~”

Riko pushed Mari hard, and Mari once again, fell flat on the ground.

 

“Aww~ What a way to greet others~”

Mari recovered from her fall and did the French lady pose.

“Draw me like one of your French ladies~”

“I’m going to leave now.”

“Waaaittt~! Riri~! I was looking for youuu~”

“I’m not You.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m me! But see, I was thinking we could team up and find Yoshiko so we can find a way to save everyone from this game!”

 

Riko paused in her tracks, and turned to face Mari.

“I figured you were here to ask that. Sure.”

“E yes~!! ………Wait. …That’s it?”

“Yes. I was trying to find you and Yoshiko as well, with the same intention. Great minds think alike, huh? Though I think yours is too great… sometimes.” Riko giggled.

 

Mari smiled. Things were going along well.


	5. Game:Start

Chika was at a lost. Ever since her encounter with Dia, she was doubting her own goal and whether she could actually save everyone.

If Dia would not cooperate with her, would the rest of Aqours cooperate with her?

 

This wasn’t like her.

Usually she would just do it and somehow things would work out.

Right, she wouldn’t give up yet!

Takami Chika never gives up!

Especially when she had set her mind to it! If they wouldn’t cooperate at first, then she just needed to convince them!

Alright Takami Chika, go get them!

 

She stood up from where she was and begun walking.

She didn’t know where she was going, but she figured if she just wandered around, she was bound to meet someone somehow.

Fate works, you know.

And sure enough, she spotted a familiar looking grey haired girl.

 

Wasn’t that You?

Woah! She had a different hairstyle from usual; a ponytail just like hers!

She had tied a ponytail herself because she thought she would look way cooler, like some kind of knight in fantasy games and movies! Hehe, yep! She had a life outside of loving idols and Muse. Games and movies are fun!

 

“You!! Ahhhh!! I’m so glad to see you!!”

Chika ran full speed ahead towards You, about to hug her.

You spun around just in time and dodged her.

 

“Ehh??!!”

Chika fell flat on the ground.

 

“WATCH WHERE YOUR FLITHY HANDS ARE GOING!”

Chika got up, surprised at the harsh reaction of You.

This wasn’t like You at all.

 

“You? Are you alright?”

“OF COURSE I AM!”

You drew out her guns, and pointed them at Chika.

G-GUNS??!!

No, Chika! Calm down!

“T-T-Then why are you acting like this?”

You walked closer, while Chika backed away, bit by bit.

 

“Because you were about to dirty my uniform! Do you understand the value of a newly worn uniform?! Of course you don’t! No one does! That’s why they treat their uniforms like trash! Like how you’re not even wearing a uniform right now, are you?! Think you have better clothes then a uniform?! Well, I’d let you know that my uniform has much more value and looks wayyy cuter than whatever you’re wearing now!”

“B-B-But You- I-I think uniforms are really cute too! I really do!”

“Then why are you not wearing a uniform right now?! Why did you try to dirty my uniform?!”

“I-I wasn’t trying to! I swear! I was just so happy to see you… I thought… I thought we could team up and get everyone out of this game… together! …Wasn’t that what you always wanted? To do something together? “

Chika was scared. There was something really off about You.

…Don’t be scared, Chika, dontbescareddontbescareddontbescared

Yep, yep! she just needed to convince You!

There was still a chance! After all, You hasn’t attacked her yet.

She just needed to let You know she wasn’t a threat.

 

“…do something together.”

You had lowered down her guns.

This was her chance!

“Yep! We could save everyone together, You. Think about it! We would be able to go back to the days we performed together, the practices we had, and the outings we had! Think about how much fun it will be once we get out of this game! Wouldn’t it be great?! Come on, You! Let’s do this… together!”

“…Isn’t that just what you want?”

Huh?

What did she mean?

“Eh?? Weren’t you happy hanging out with us all?”

“…That’s because I thought that would make you happy.”

“Wha- You… I-“

“It was always about you, wasn’t it Chika?”

 

Chika was dumbfounded. She could not speak.

“All this time, did you even consider what I wanted? Weren’t you always just doing everything you wanted? What do you mean together? Isn’t it just hanging out with everyone else too? Becoming idols and seeing it through with me, huh? Chika. You don’t understand. That’s not the same. Not the same at all. Spending time as a group, and spending time with just the two of us. They are two different things, you know?”

You was feeling hurt. She could feel it.

B-But she did think about You! She thought they could finally do something together that they both liked when she started this idol group!

…But maybe… she was wrong?

……...........All this time… was You just acting happy?

……If that was so, did that meant everyone was just doing it for her too?

…………….What if… they didn’t enjoy being idols with her? What if… they were all just acting happy too? Was that why Dia…

But still… she hoped.

 

“So… does that mean… you don’t want to team up with me?”

“…No, Chika. No, I don’t.”

Chika was hurt. You, the girl who never turned her back on her no matter what, who was always there for her when she needed her… was it because she was too dense to realize what her bestest friend really wanted? Stupid, stupid Chika.

 

You raised her guns slowly and pointed at Chika.

“But right now... the most important thing to me now, are uniforms. …Anyone who dares to treat them badly... must perish.”

She heard a similar sentence like that before. Just recently. With the same passion… didn’t Dia said something like that too?

…Maybe it was true. She was always just pushing others into doing what she wanted without considering what they wanted. If only she could have realized it sooner… if only…

Maybe she deserved this.

Maybe with this… You would finally not be hurt anymore. …by her.

Without her, maybe everyone would be happier.

She closed her eyes, preparing for whatever came next.

But the wait carried on longer than she thought it would.

 

“……. But it would be injustice to kill you now, when you haven’t dirtied my or your own uniform.”

…Huh? Did You just lowered down her guns?

“…. If I did take some time to think about it objectively, people can like uniform but wear something else too.”

…Her previous words got through to her…!

“……Right, the one who really deserves punishment now is not you… its her. itsheritsheritsheritsher itsheritsheritsheritsher”

You dropped to her knees, dropping her guns and placing both her hands on her head.

“Yeah… that’s right. I’d never forget that moment. …unforgiveable…. unforgiveable unforgiveable unforgiveable unforgiveable unforgiveable….hehe.”

 

You quickly recovered and picked up her guns.

“I won’t waste any more time with you here anymore. There’s someone more important I have to deal with right now. …hehe. Hehehehehehehehe…”

You started to walk away.

Chika didn’t move.

She waited till You was far out of sight, before she finally let out a relieved sigh.

 

She was alive.

…but for what?

She thought back about what You had said, and what Dia had said.

….What was the point of her trying when nobody was on the same mindset?

How could she even save anyone, when she couldn’t even convince Dia or You?

…And what was the point of her being alive when… no one was really happy, because of her?

………........

…………………………………

……………………………………………..

…………………..But there was a point.

Just then, an idea had sparked in her mind.

If she couldn’t save everyone by convincing them, then why not approach it in a different way?

What did the note said again?

Be the sole survivor and your any one wish would be granted right?

Yep… that’s right… she could… kill them all.

And that would be alright! Because, she would wish for them all to be alive again!

Then they could finally get out of this twisted game!

And she could finally make it up to everyone, to You....

She would consider what they feel, and come up with something they liked!

…She was doing this for them! She was!

There was no other way!

No other way…

 

Chika stood up, and strike at a tree trunk with her dagger.

First, she would practice her cuts with her dagger.

Then, she would research on everyone else using the application on her phone that was provided to her by the Mastermind.

If she could, she could stay hidden when she finds someone and figure out their weapons too.

Or act passively towards them and make “friends” with them if that fails.

That was what they do in shows too, right?

She would figure out their weaknesses, and strike at the right time.

…She was not the weak Takami Chika that everyone knew anymore.

 

 

“Aww, Ririiiii I’m sooooo tireeeddddd”

Mari grumbled, while she walked with Riko.

“We haven’t even walked a few steps yet!”

“But I still feel the tiredness of how much I’ve walked from a tiny baby till now, the footsteps I’ve accumulated since then was a lot you know!”

“If you count like that, shouldn’t I be feeling tired too?”

“Aww, but you’ve more stamina than me Riri~ Carry meeee~”

“No!”

They bickered like that for quite a while.

 

Riko wondered why she had thought teaming up with Mari was a good idea.

Mari was sooooo lazy!

Well, she couldn’t blame her that much.

She understood how she felt after all, walking like this can be really tiring, especially when you haven’t exactly exercised for so long.

 

She thought back about the things she did before she found herself in this game.

Playing the piano, and doing arts…

She really was an indoor person.

The only time she ever exercised was when she practiced her dances with Aqours.

She had a hard time with those, having not usually exercise.

But at least she did dance well in the end.

 

Before she was in this game though, Aqours was having a break, and she hadn’t been exercising since their last practice, which was a bad sign, since she probably had to run to survive in her circumstances right now.

 

The weapon she had received was a bow, and arrows.

She had thought it fit her, as it required deep concentration to land an arrow with a bow, and she had been challenged plenty of times with that, when playing the piano and doing the arts.

She had practiced the weapon she got, just in case too, before she met Mari.

It was great to say, she had picked it up quickly, and caught up with some exercises too.

 

“Ririiii~ Did you know that Gemini and Virgo, our star signs, rule the same planet, Mercury? I wish we could gain back our long lost powers and fly back to our planet soon! They say that on Mercury, your food are automatically cooked and ready to eat since we’re so close to the sun! We won’t have to cook or wait anymore! Why can’t we have good things?”

“Wouldn’t the food be burnt the longer we stay there then? No, no, no, I should be questioning where you even heard that from! Have you been reading astrology facts or something like that? No… you’ve been reading too much fanfictions again, haven't you?”

“You caught me~! But that goes the same for you too right? One time when we were over at your house for a Guilty Kiss practice, I looked under your bed, and found Yuri mang-“

“NO YOU DIDN’T SEE THOSE! MARI PLEASE RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE’S PRIVACY!! I-I can’t believe you looked without my permission!!”

“But I was looking for your lyrics sheet, Riri! And you weren’t there, and you were taking sooo long! Oh, and I read them and they were great by the way! The girls even kissed, I approve~!”

“MARI”

“It’s joke~ It’s joke~ But it really was great! I could give you recommendations if you want~ I’m into those too!”

Riko hesitated, blushing profusely now that her secret was out.

…But she wanted- no, NEEDED to know those recommendations!!

“Ermm… that would be great. What are your recommendations? …I have some I haven’t bought physical copies of actually, so I could recommend you some too.”

And so they shared many lovely Yuri mangas, animes and shows together while walking, with Riko getting a nosebleed as she imagined the many Yuris she hadn’t read yet, that she didn’t know about!

Yes!!! This was what she partnered Mari for!!

RECOMMANDATIONS!!

More and more of them!!

She could not get enough!!

And she was soooo deprived now that her phone couldn’t even access the internet!

Heck, she was gonna get out of here soon just so she could access those lovely Yuri… eheheheehehhhh…

 

“My, my, Riri… getting ahead of yourself huh? Hey, look! I see something! Bless these enhanced vision glasses~ I think we found Yoshiko, Riri!”

 

Wait, what?

Had they really been walking for that long just talking about Yuri?

At least they found who they were looking for now.

 

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get Yoshiko!”

“Waaaaittttttt!! Something’s not right~~” Mari said in her English accent.

“What’s not right?” Riko questioned.

“Come here, Riri!”

 

Mari had moved forward and hid behind a bush.

Riko followed along and took in the sight.

 

There was Yoshiko alright, but with her, was… Ruby?!

Wait, why was Ruby trapped in a thorn made cage?

…Was Yoshiko… PLANNING ON KABEDONNING RUBY IN THAT CAGE SOON JEDJDJFJFJFJ

CRAP ALL THAT YURI TALK DIDN’T DO HER ANY GOOD.

NOW HER MIND WAS FULL OF FANTASIES.

SAKURAUCHI RIKO GET A GRIP OF YOURSELF.

 

“Riri…? Err… Riri? Wow, that’s a huge nosebleed~ Are you thinking about how sexy I am~?” Mari joked.

“N-N-No! I’m not thinking about anything! Nothing at all! What are you talking about?! Hahahaha hehehehe, yea, yep, I can see something’s really off! Yes, and I think we should err.. you know! Back off for now!”

She needed time to calm her nerves!!

“That’s a good idea Riri~ I guess figuring out what we should do now is a good plan, though I usually just charge in and improvise~ We make a good team~!”

That’s not what she was thinking about, but that was what she would have said if she was in the right state of mind, so in a way, they did make a great team.

Riko and Mari moved away from where they were for now and talked about how they should approach this.

“Okay, so we would go in and talk to Yoshiko and if something’s off, you’ll…”

And then the plan begun.

 

The two girls of the third sector, “The hand symbol of perfection”, walked down into unknown fallen angel territory, faced with utmost danger from the coming hostility of their long lost comrade…

“MARI STOP NARRATING, I CAN PRACTICALLY HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS”

Riko commented on Mari’s smirk face, imagining what the blonde could have been thinking.

“Aww~ I thought it was cool how we’re walking in like this though~ Like BAM! The two girls trespassing onto the dark territory of the dark fallen angel! Shadows surrounded them everywhere! And the only thing they could do was unleash their magical powers! Like ZAP, VAM~! Something Yohane would say at a time like this~! …That reminds me, I wonder where did Yohane went? Guess we could just ask Yoshiko~”

“…Yoshiko and Yohane are the same person.”

“What are you guys doing here.”

 

 

They were interrupted in the midst of their conversation by the person they were looking for, Yoshiko.

“Yoshiko! We’ve been looking for you~! Do you know where Yohane went?”

“IT’S YOHANE- Wait… What?”

“MARI NOWS NOT THE TIME”

“Sorry~”

“Okay. So Yoshiko, we’ve been looking for you because we thought we could team up together, as Gulity Kiss, and figure out a way to get everyone out of this game when we escape. Deal?”

“…Deal not sealed”

“Aww whyy~!”

“In this game, only yourself can be trusted! What if your teammate betrays you? Have you ever thought of that possibility before you teamed up? What would you do if that happens, huh? Tell me!”

“Easy~! We don’t have to think about it because we won’t betray each other~!”

“You guys are naïve and foolish! I don’t want anything to do with you two, so get away from here!”

 

Yoshiko pulled out her kunai and attempted to land a slash on Mari.

Mari dodged just in time, and ran away from the scene.

“Ciao, Riri~ See you when I see you~!”

“HEY! SO THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU’LL ACTUALLY RUN??!!”

“See! Your teammate just abandoned you! What did I tell you about betrayal?!”

 

Yoshiko tried to land her next slash on Riko.

Riko ducked.

“I can still handle you on my own!”

“We’ll see about that! You seem to be at a disadvantage against me, aren’t you?”

Riko’s expression cracked slightly, and she moved her hand slowly towards her bag of arrows… if only she could use them right now, but she couldn’t in a close combat.

 

Yoshiko smirked at Riko’s reaction, and started her fury of slashes.

Riko dodged them all, one nearly making contact as she was careless, and another slicing off strands of her hair.

She could not keep this up any longer.

She needed to fight back.

But how?

“Riri, over here~!”

And she saw it, her light of hope!

“You’re back?!”

Yoshiko was surprised at Mari’s sudden intervention.

Riko dashed over to where Mari was, while Yoshiko was distracted.

 

It was the moment they had planned for!

Riko took out her bow and started preparing her arrows.

“Oh no you won’t!”

Yoshiko ran forward fast, but before she could reach Riko, she felt a click on the ground.

Suddenly, Yoshiko was paralysed. A… stun trap?!

“Bull’s eye~! Riri, go!”

Riko aimed her arrow at Yoshiko and…

A burst of smoke emerged out of nowhere!

And as the smoke cleared, Yoshiko disappeared from her last position.

Riko and Mari stood rooted to the ground, surprised.

 

Then, Yoshiko’s voice sounded from above.

They looked up, and Yoshiko was standing on a branch of a tree.

“It seems I’ve underestimated you two. But as it still stands, I still won’t team up with you two. Just... Get away from here. Before you get hurt.”

They were out of trump cards.

Yoshiko was adamant and impossible to convince, even after showing her what a team could do.

As it stood, there was no way forward and it seemed they were not going to get any information out of Yoshiko.

It was a stalemate.

 

“Alright Mari, let’s get out of here.”

“Already?” Mari was surprised at Riko’s words.

“…Yea.”

Riko walked away, dejected. Mari followed along.

 

Later that night, the two girls laid together under a tree.

It was silent.

 

“Aww, Riri~ Come onnn~ Turn that frown upside down! I’m sure we’ll figure out a way somehow! Maybe Yoshiko’s just not ready yet! Or we could just do this, together~! You saw how cool we were out there just now right? We’ll find a way, no worries about it~!”

Mari gave a beaming smile, cheering on Riko.

 

“Mmm, I guess you’re right. There’s no point worrying about it too…”

“Yep~! Worrying’s not gonna solve anything, so why worry? We’re gonna find a way tomorrow, I’m sure of it! So for now, let’s just get a good sleep, Riri~”

 

Riko smiled at Mari’s words. Mari was lazy, and may come off as annoying at times, but she knew just how to make things fun and never stopped smiling nor gave up.

Her antics never failed to put a smile to her face, even though her reactions to it may come off as feeling annoyed. In reality, Mari had supported her a lot, and the thought brought Riko comfort.

 

Soon, Riko fell asleep, with the feeling of warmness of Mari cuddled close to her.

They would find a way tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

“Welcome song~ Our hearts become one… so this place is our never ending stage~”

A girl murmured the lyrics of a familiar song.

 

The room was dimly lit, with the only lights glowing from the various screens in the room.

 

“Things are going according to plan.”

The girl smiled, as she looked at the various screens in the room, observing the different acts being carried out for the plan.

 

With the new technology that had been developed, new and powerful drugs had been created with the intent of trying to create a new form of self-defense.

And with the help of some secret agents, she had managed to seize her hands on them.

With those drugs, she had managed to brainwash the government into getting her this place to hold the survival game.

 

It was tough work, but it had been worth the effort, for her plan was now in full action.

She smiled at her doing, and grabbed a coat from her chair.

She was going to have fun too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never said the Mastermind must be an Aqours member, nor did I say the mastermind must be a Muse member ;)  
> Have fun figuring out who the mastermind is~  
> EDIT: next chapter will probably be added on 16March 11.00am sgt time~


	6. Hope and Despair

“Kanannnn!! Maru’s so hungryyyyyy zuraaa. We don’t have any food in our bag zura, and there’s no food stalls around here at all zuraaa!! We are going to starve, Kanan! We are doomed zuraaa!!”

Hanamaru couldn’t take it anymore! She was just toooooo hungry! Where were the buns she would eat every few minutes when she got hungry?! She had never gone so long without eating something until now!

“Don’t worry, Hanamaru. We’ll find something to eat soon! How about we look around now, why don’t we?”

Kanan said with a bright smile and begun to look around.

“Yayyy!! Kanan is the best zuraaaa!! Maru hopes we’d find something tasty zuraaa!!”

Hanamaru cheered. Maybe they would be able to find some hamburgers or takoyakis around here! Trees that grew cake?! Hidden biscuits in the bushes?!

Hanamaru’s mind was now filled with the various types of delicious food that she has had before while her stomach growled with hunger.

 

“Kanan Kanan! Have you found anything yet zuraaa~? Maru hasn’t seem to see anything zura!”

Kanan smiled while she was squatted down, looking at something.

“Yep, yep! I did find something!”

She rose from where she was and turned around to face Hanamaru.

In her hands, was some wood sorrel.

“Ehh?!?! We’re gonna eat plants zuraaa???!!!!”

Hanamaru stared disbelievingly at Kanan. Was Kanan really suggesting them to eat plants??!!

“I read in a survival book that there are plants that could be eaten in the wild~ There are some which are dangerous when consumed of course… but this one’s safe and filled with vitamin C! It quenches thirst too, and its white flowers looks really pretty~ Really reminds you of Azalea, doesn’t it?”

Hanamaru continued staring at Kanan, still feeling skeptical.

“Are you really not lying to me zura?? Maru’s never eaten plants before… Are they tasty zura?”

“Sure they are! If you don’t trust me, I can eat them first~”

With that, Kanan took a bite of the wood sorrel.

“Mmmm~ It has a soft texture~ And a tint of lemony taste too!”

Seeing Kanan eating the flower and hearing Kanan’s words, Hanamaru decided she would try one too.

She took a piece of wood sorrel from Kanan’s hands and placed them in her mouth.

“Mmmm! It really tastes nice zuraaa!!”

“Right~? Loving it~ I’ll be honest, I’ve not ever tasted them before either and getting to taste them now is a great experience~ I still miss the taste of fishes in my mouth though… the sea calls to me, I really miss the sea right now.”

Kanan let out a sigh.

“Maru’s got an idea! Let’s find a river or pond now zura! Kanan will be able to get her fishes there!”

Hanamaru eyes sparkled, as she voiced her bright idea.

“That’s a good idea! We can save these wood sorrels for later too, in case we don’t find any edible food at some point of time.”

“Yayyy, we’re going fishing zura!”

Hanamaru cheered happily, they were going to do something fun!

“Hahahaha, we don’t have fishing rods, but we can catch fishes with our hands~”

“Ahhh will they be slimy zuraa?”

“Hahaha, maybe~ You’ll be able to feel them when we find some later~ We’d have to start a fire to cook it first too, so don’t try to eat the fishes before they are cooked, Hanamaru!”

Kanan giggled.

“Hanamaru can control herself zura! Kanan don’t need to look after her zura!”

Hanamaru pouted. Hanamaru was a big, big girl and doesn’t need anyone to take care of her!

“Hahahaha, I’m just making sure my adorable companion doesn’t harm herself with uncooked food!”

“Zuraaaa!! Don’t make fun of me zuraa!!”

Hanamaru begun hitting Kanan repeatedly with her hands while Kanan giggled away.

And with that, they set out to find fishes.

 

 

 

“Maybe we can find someone else instead to help! Or do it ourselves~! Oh! I know! How about we steal Ruby from Yoshiko then try to convince her? I mean, Ruby must be important to Yoshiko somehow, if she keeps her there for so long and hasn’t hurt her! Wow~ I never knew Yoshiko was in that kind of relationship with Ruby~~ Oh my~~”

“I don’t think Yoshiko is in that kind of relationship with Ruby, Mari. But that is an idea… but she already knows our technique so we’d need some time to plan another one if we want to do that. As for finding someone else to help… humm…”

Mari was planning their next move with Riko.

With their recent failure to convince Yoshiko to team up with them, they were feeling lost, not knowing what to do next. They had decided to walk a distance away from where Yoshiko was for now, while they planned for the future.

They could either proceed on with their plan with just themselves, try to convince Yoshiko again, or, they could try to find someone else to join them instead.

 

As Riko contemplated about what Mari had just said, Mari got bored and decided to sneak up on Riko.

Her hands reached out towards Riko’s chest and…

“Well, I don’t know anyone who would want to team up with- AHH!!”

“Mmmm, your chest feels small but super soft, Riko~ It feels really good, I love it~!”

“STOP IT MARI!”

Mari felt a tight slap on her face, and she got her hands off Riko. It hurt, but it was totally worth it~ Riko’s chest was so soft, she wished she could-

“AND WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE TOO”

“Aww~ You’re no fun Riko~”

Mari pouted, but internally she was enjoying Riko’s reaction.

What a cute face she was making right now~

If she could, she would make a photo album of Riko’s different expressions!

Oh, she could make memes out of it too… this one where Riko was making a diamond shaped mouth while being angry with her would be “DELET THIS” and the one where Riko was totally flustered was “I don’t feel so good.” Mmm~ she would add the fade away particles to that too! She just needed to look up how to do it by searching “How to Photoshop the I don’t feel so good meme for dummies”~ Mmm, It would be so memetastic~!

 

Just then, a familiar orange haired girl walked in.

“Hey guys!!”

Riko and Mari turned in sync towards the newcomer, surprised that they’ve met someone else involved in the game so soon.

“It’s a miracle! I was just looking for other people too! And it seems that luck is on my side, since I’ve found not one, but two people!”

Oh! If Chika was looking for other people, that meant she wanted to team up right~? Maybe they could ask her to join them!

..….But Wait.

Something was wrong.

Chika had… a sword looking dagger out in her hand.

“Hmm? What’s wrong Mari? Why do you look a little worried? I thought you’d be happy to see one of your old friends~”

Chika continued smiling as if nothing was wrong.

“Chika… why are you holding a dagger?”

Riko noticed what was wrong too.

“Hummm? Oh? This? It’s just what the Mastermind gave me~ I didn’t have anywhere to put it, so I’m holding it in my hand~”

….But…. Chika did have somewhere to put it.

...........It was the dagger pocket equipped to her belt.

And right now… she was just a few inches away from them.

….And they were not prepared.

“Mari. Run.”

Hearing Riko’s whisper, Mari ran off.

She had to do something quick! Plant traps! Get Chika away from Riko! Get her dagger away from her!

 

“Oh? Why is your teammate running away? I’m just here to save you all.”

Chika raised her dagger and attempted to make contact with Riko’s bare skin.

Riko dodged.

“Chika, stop. This isn’t like you.” Riko stated firmly.

“What do you mean? I’m always like me, nothing’s ever wrong with me, nothing at all~ nothing at all~ I’m just trying to save you two right now~ Don’t worry, it won’t hurt at all and it’d be over quick, so please, won’t you just stay still for a while~?”

Chika’s smile never flattered and she continued trying to cut Riko with the sharp end of her dagger.

With the fight with Yoshiko, Riko’s reflexes improved and she had managed to evade Chika’s attacks.

“Killing won’t solve anything Chika!”

“I’m not killing! I’m just sending you somewhere safe for now before I bring you back! Why are you fighting back? Don’t you want to be saved? I promise you, everything would be better if you let me help you!”

Chika continued relentlessly.

Her words couldn’t get through to her!

She had no means of fighting back in the state that she was in right now!

With Yoshiko, they had had time to think beforehand… but now, she had to think fast!

What could she use against Chika?

Think, Riko! Think… Ah! Tiny stones perhaps?

Riko avoided Chika’s next attack and dashed off, picking up some stones along the way.

With these, she could throw them immediately at Chika without the need of a preparation---unlike archery.

She threw the stones at Chika, but Chika reflected them with her dagger.

This wasn’t the Chika she expected!!

“I see you’re surprised Riko. You see, I haven’t sleep at all. I have been practicing with this dagger non stop, with the determination to save you all. And… it seems passion really does get you somewhere. And… right now… I feel a rush of energy, that’s keeping me wide awake and fully attentive. It’s like… you’re so close to your goal and a sort of energy just keeps you going. …Isn’t that just awesome?”

Chika’s titled her head while she was talking. And her smile widen, with her lips parting slightly.

Things were not going well.

Not well at all.

Okay, Riko, calm down…

Mari should have figured something by now…

She knew she would.

And as she thought of that, Mari’s voice indeed sounded from a distance.

They couldn’t give up yet!

 

Riko rushed off over to Mari.

If they did just what they did in the fight with Yoshiko, it’ll be alright right?

There’s no way Chika could figure out where the traps are planted!

Riko raised her bow and arrow, preparing to shoot.

Chika was about to hit a trap when suddenly, she turned away.

What?!

Her arrow landed on the ground.

“Your look gave it away, Riko! Thank you for your cooperation~”

Chika’s voice sounded from behind her.

She felt hands grabbing her from behind.

Mari stood in shock.

“It’s my turn to help you now… See you soon, Riko~ …Goodbye for now~”

With the last few words whispered, Chika dug her dagger deep into Riko’s belly.

The red haired girl’s eyes dilated in shock as blood spilt onto the ground, tinting the blades of grass red.

N-No... This can't be happening!

Riko struggled to release herself from Chika’s grip but her strength was beginning to sip away from her from the blood lost.

She felt a burning sensation travel across her body at the feeling of the sharp end of the dagger piercing in her stomach.

She was losing consciousness.

B-B-But... Mari... she had to... protect Mari...!

Chika maintained a firm grip on Riko, digging her dagger deeper.

The red haired girl twisted in agony, and turned to face her blonde haired comrade.

If she could not survive this, she had to at least make sure Mari was safe...!

“Mari… save yourself. …I’m… s-sorry…”

Feeling a wave of darkness engulfing her, she went limp.

 

 

Chika redrew her blood tainted dagger, letting the red haired girl slump to the ground.

…And she turned to face Mari.

 

Chika smiled gleefully.

“And now it’s your turn~”

Mari stared at the orange haired girl in horror.

And as Chika slowly drew closer, Mari willed herself to move.

The last few words Riko spoke resounded in her mind.

“Mari… save yourself.”

She couldn’t let Riko down!

She ran behind a bush and tried moving in cover to the next.

The leaves rustled.

“I can hear you, Mari~ Why are you running away~? Don’t you want to see your comrade soon~?”

Chika peered through the bushes, but Mari was nowhere to be found.

Mari silently cheered at the success of her tactic.

Tricking Chika into thinking she was hidden elsewhere, by making leaves rustling sounds with thrown stones, was a good idea.

…But she knew she could not keep doing this.

Sooner or later… she would be found out.

Mari moved to her next hiding spot.

 

“Oh Mari~ Come out come out wherever you are~ If you come out, we don’t have to keep doing this~ You’ll save me a lot of time…~”

Chika moved to the next rustling sound, but still failed to find her target.

“You can run, Mari, but you can’t hide~ I know you’re still here~ Ehe~”

Chika turned and spotted a few strands of blonde hair sticking out of a bush.

“Oh~ So that’s where you are~”

Chika smiled and moved towards the bush.

“I found you~”

….But just then, a net fell on her from above, and she fell in shock.

Lifting her head slightly from the ground, she glimpse the sight of Mari running away.

She was caught off guard.

“Oh well~ This is no big deal~ If you want to play hard to get, that’s okay~ I can always save you later on~ Ehe~”

She moved the sharp end of her dagger to slice the net that was pinning her to the ground, and she lifted herself up.

She patted dust off her blood stained clothes and continued smiling.

“Let’s see who I can save next~”

 

 

 

The sun was beginning to set.

You had been moving restlessly through the forest in search of her target.

IhavetofindherIhavetofindherIhavetofindherIhavetofindherIhavetofindher

Feeling the weight of exhaustion slowly taking over her body, she moved over to the nearest tree and threw a punch of frustration on the tree.

“I will find her tomorrow… for sure. I will not fail.”

She flopped down onto the ground, took out her phone and scrolled to her target’s name.

She had been reading her target’s entry every night, it was burned into her mind by now.

 

**Tsushima Yoshiko**

**Holds delusions of grandeur.**

**Believes she is a fallen angel, who goes by the name “Yohane”.**

**Skilled in technology.**

**Attends the same kindergarden as Hanamaru.**

**Born in the urban side of the city of Numazu.**

“She’ll pay for this.”

You murmured as she held a firm grip on her guns, and drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we begin to dive into despair... :,) did you guys think I’d let my otp last throughout this story :,) nope, author’s gotta suffer with ya’ll-  
> Also Wood Sorrel is a real thing, though I’ve not tasted it before, but it was how its described to taste like online XD  
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter TvT Next chapter update will be on 23 March 11.00am sgt~ (I'll keep to updating on Saturdays 11.00am sgt unless I can't make it--- in which case, I'd update my progress on the chapter's end note)


	7. Rising Tension

“Sakurauchi Riko is now dead!! Looks like things are finally starting to get interesting~ Good job to the murderer! I hope to see more deaths coming soon~ Let’s all continue to have a fun time together~ Hehe~”

The altered voice echoed throughout the forest, seemingly coming from something, somewhere, who cares!

All Mari knew was that it was not from her phone, and she did not want to listen to it!

Riko’s not dead! Riko’s not dead!! SHE CAN’T BE DEAD!!!

Mari’s inner thoughts screamed at her as she fought to keep going.

She refused to believe the red haired companion she loved with all her heart was now gone.

She ran through the forest desperately, the only thing keeping her going were the last words her companion said.

“Mari, save yourself”

…She made it out, but what for?

What was the point when Riko wasn’t here with her anymore??!!

Even if she survived, and saved everyone, it wouldn’t be the same without her!

 

Mari picked up her pace as rain drops fell on her head.

Soon the forest grew darker, and leaves started flying around frantically, in the currents of the strong wind.

It seemed as though the weather could read her mood.

She wanted to run on forever, run away from reality, run away from the thought of her companion being dead-

Then, she caught a glimpse of a figure in front of her.

She looked up slowly and took in the appearance of the person standing before her.

She was wearing dark brown boots, a green dress, and long red braided hair swayed from behind her.

“…Riri…?” Mari murmured in a low voice, half in disbelief.

“…It’s alright, Mari. Don’t be sad…” the girl murmured in a gentle voice.

“Riri…? Riri…?! It’s that really you?! I-I-I thought you were dead!! I-I thought you-“

Mari started, unable to find words. She could not believe Riko was still alive! But here she was, standing fully unwounded in front of her! It couldn’t be a dream right?! If it was, she didn’t want to wake up from it!

“It’s okay. I’m here with you. Everything will be alright from now on.”

“…Riri! Riri!! I-I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop her! I-I couldn’t do anything to save you then… I was so… shocked, I couldn’t think, I’m-“

“It’s okay, we all make mistakes and the past is the past right? Don’t worry, I’m alright and I’m here now. I’ll never leave your side, Mari.”

“I-I’m so glad you’re alive…!”

Mari sobbed and hugged the girl before her.

She was not alone!

Riko’s alive!

Riko’s alive!!

Riko’s alive!!!!

“I love you so much, Riri!! P-Please don’t leave me like that ever again!… I… I……..I can’t live without you! I promise to do better to protect you from now on, so please…”

The girl who accepted her no matter what crazy ideas she had in mind,

who brought her comfort with her kindness,

who always listened to her and gave her her honest opinion,

and the girl who despite being completely different from her, still shared interests they could talk about together for a long time…

She loved spending time with her, and she was so happy that she was still alive and fully well, that she could have another chance to spend time together with her…!

She continued hugging Riko tightly,

not wanting to let her go,

not wanting to let her companion slip from her life ever again,

….feeling afraid that,

once she let go…

she might disappear.

 

“Mari.”

“…Mari.”

Suddenly, she realized a voice was calling out to her.

It was deeper, and sounded a little strict.

“Mari….. Why are you……... hugging a tree?”

A… a tree?

She knows Riko’s full name is Sakurauchi Riko, which sounds like Sakurau-Tree Riko, and sakura comes from cherry blossom trees, but Riko’s definitely not a tree!

She turned and looked up at the owner of the voice.

She was wearing a red vest, and had long black hair tied up in a low ponytail.

It was Dia, one of her childhood friends.

“…A tree? ….A TREE??!! Riri’s not a tree! Can’t you tell the difference between a tree and Riri?! I never thought a day would come when Kurosawa Dia, the strict and no-nonsense friend I’ve known since childhood, would not be able to tell a human from a tree! Apologize to Riri right now!”

Mari confronted the black haired girl, offended that Dia thought that her companion was a tree.

Dia must’ve gone nuts! She was sure!

After all, it was so clear that Riko was just standing in front her! She could feel her warmth, she could see her actions, and she could hear her voice so clearly!

It couldn’t be a vision! It was too real….

It is real.

This is real.

The black haired girl hesitated, before replying, “But… that is clearly a tree, Mari. Riko’s dead. The announcement confirmed it.”

“D-D-Dead? No… she’s not… she… she’s right here…. She’s not…”

Mari’s vision flickered for a second, a distortion of various colours.

She blinked, and Riko was still standing near her.

…Its Dia… she’s not telling the truth… she just couldn’t see, that Riko’s still alive!

“She’s not dead Dia! And I’m not forgiving you until you apologize to her!”

Mari pressed on, not willing to let go until Dia corrected herself. Riko deserved better than that!

 

The black haired girl stood silent for a while, unmoving.

Then, she moved her right hand, and drew out a dagger.

She swung her dagger in preparation, aiming at Riko.

Then, a feeling of familiarity strike Mari.

She’s seen this before.

With the very same weapon…

It was about to happen again…

…SHE’S NOT LETTING IT HAPPEN AGAIN!!

“DIA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!”

An incontrollable rage surged through Mari, and she grabbed Dia’s neck.

Blood was pounding in her ears. She was going to stop Dia no matter what! She promised Riko! No one was ever going to hurt her ever again!! NEVER!!

“M-Mari- S-top!” Dia choked.

“I’M NOT LETTING YOU HURT RIKO!!” Mari exclaimed and tighten her grip.

Even if they were childhood friends, if she wanted to hurt Riko, she’d not be spared!

She had to do anything she could, to protect, to make sure she’s safe!

Even if it meant… killing her…!

Kill her…!

KiLL

HEr.

Mari did not let go.

She would not let go.

She had to make sure…!

Then, she felt a sharp pain from her back.

Her grip on Dia’s neck loosened.

She suddenly felt weak.

Her vision blurred before her, and she glimpsed droplets of scarlet blood dripping to the ground.

She… had been… stabbed.

B-But… Ri…ko…

She looked to the place Riko was standing, but….

…no one was there.

…..…She was alone.

…..Riko…

....She’s really dead…

But…

That’s okay…

She’s going to join her now…

….They’d be together now…

She closed her eyes as she embraced the feeling of darkness engulfing her.

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t stay alive for you.”

Mari gave a weak smile, and fell lifelessly to the ground.

 

 

 

Dia felt the grip on her neck loosened.

And she felt the blonde haired girl fell to the ground.

She… had just stabbed her childhood friend.

All she wanted to do… was prove to her, that she was, indeed hugging and talking to a tree.

She had to wake Mari up from her supposed hallucination, and the only way she thought would do the trick, was to cut her vision of Riko, and to reveal the tree underneath that was seen as “Riko” in Mari’s vision.

She did not think Mari would react like this.

She had not anticipate the blonde’s action, and she did the only thing she could do to get herself out of her grip.

….It was... self-defense… she did not mean to… kill her.

She stared at the lifeless body of her friend, as rain continued to pour down.

Grief begun to crawl throughout her body.

She… she did this to her childhood friend…

Dia closed her eyes, feeling a wave of regret threatening to drown her.

She stood still for a long while, letting the feeling of rain comfort her.

Then, she took in a huge breath and decided she had to move on.

…For Ruby.

 

She squatted down, and begun to dig a hole using her bare hands.

She had to keep Mari safe.

She could not let her rot away and let wild animals feed on her.

The hole became bigger and bigger as she continued working her hands.

Eventually, the hole became deep enough to fit Mari’s body inside.

Dia lifted the lifeless body of her childhood friend, and placed her gently into the hole she dug.

She then covered it back up with the soil that had been uncovered.

She stood back up and stared at the ground that was keeping Mari safe.

She decided she would stand vigil tonight, in respect to the blonde haired girl that she had grew up with, who she had shared many memories with, who was always so cheerful, her radiance brought joy to everyone around her. A girl who she held deeply in her heart.

The rain continued pouring down hard, thunder roaring loudly in the black haired girl’s ears.

It was going to be a long night.

 

 

 

Hanamaru cowered in fear, while Kanan held her tightly.

Riko and Mari had been announced dead.

Their friends were dying, and they were killing each other. Why was all this happening? What went wrong? Why were they placed in this game?

Kanan furrowed her eyebrows.

Riko, the gentle and kind girl who she could talk to comfortably, who always helped compose Aqours’ amazing songs.

Mari, her childhood friend who she had spent a lot of time with, who had never left her side…

They were gone. Dead.

She couldn’t… protect them.

….She couldn’t find them in time.

……..And just when she thought everything was going alright, that everything would work out somehow, seeing the smile of Hanamaru as they shared food and went fishing together…

Kanan stopped herself before she went any further into her thoughts.

She had to stay positive, she had to keep Hanamaru safe!

 

Her little companion shifted closer to her and she felt her shivering on her body.

Kanan ran her hands gently on the brown haired girl’s back as she tried to ease her fears.

“There, there… It’s alright…” Kanan whispered softly.

Even though she did not believe it herself, she wanted to be strong for Hanamaru.

She wanted Hanamaru to not worry… she wanted Hanamaru to be happy.

Especially because… since that day…

Hanamaru shifted slightly and held Kanan tighter.

“But it’s not alright, Kanan…! Our friends… they are… dying… Maru’s friends…Maru’s… sad… Maru’s…scared! Zuraaa!!” Hanamaru let out a squeal.

“…I know how you’re feeling Hanamaru. ...I miss them a lot too… but we must stay strong Hanamaru. That’s what they would have wanted us to do. Stay strong and make it out of this game. We mustn’t let our grief drown us now. We must continue to move forward, and keep our head high. Survive and make it out of here… for them.”

Kanan gave her most confident smile. She was going to convince Hanamaru that there was still hope!

Yes… They were going to make it out of here alive! She would not let anything happen to Hanamaru!

Hanamaru eased a little as she heard Kanan’s words and she mustered a tiny smile.

“…Kanan’s right, zura… Maru’s going to stay strong! Maru won’t let Riko or Mari down zura! ……Thank you… Kanan…. for supporting Maru like this… Maru… really appreciates it zura...”

The brown haired girl murmured and she placed her head on Kanan’s body, hugging her gently and embracing the blue haired girl’s warmth.

Kanan continued embracing Hanamaru as she watched her brown haired companion drift off into sleep.

She smiled warmly at the innocent and cute smile her sleeping companion had on her face.

“Have a good rest, Hanamaru…I promise, I’ll protect you no matter what.”

Kanan vowed, determined, as she too, eventually fell asleep, resting her head against Hanamaru’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (rip)ko, ma(rip). And then they became the URs of the angel set-  
> And are you sure Riko’s not a tree? uwu Feeling deep despair myself as I just killed my two best girls and otp :,) But the story must go on :,)  
> Also edited grammar mistakes of the previous chapters- Went back to edit Riko’s death scene a bit too as I felt I didn’t write it as well as Mari’s one- uwu  
> 


	8. A Way Out

Dia walked on.

After spending the night standing vigil for Mari, she was feeling exhausted, but she had to move on.

If people were already dying, who knew what would happen to Ruby?

“Big sister… Big sister…”

Her telepathic scream. Ruby was still calling out to her.

There was no time to lose, she needed to find Ruby as soon as she could.

 

Eventually, she reached an area full of fog.

It was even foggier than the other parts of the forest that she had been in.

A mysterious atmosphere hang in the air, but it felt as if it was trying to pull her closer.

Dia’s guts were telling her that she should figure out what it was.

It may lead her closer to finding a way out without killing anyone.

 

She walked on into the fog, trying to figure out what was telling her that this place was a good sign.

But as she moved further into the fog, she felt lost.

Everything around her was covered in fog and she could not see anything.

It felt like she was moving in an area that had no end, where there is nothing but fog, and she had no direction to lead her on.

Despite that, she continued on determinedly.

If she could figure this out, she would be able to get Ruby out of this game and keep her safe.

The walk continued endlessly, and Dia suddenly felt weak.

She noticed something in the air that she had not realized before.

A kind of weird smell…

And it was making her feel faint.

Soon, an image started to form in her sights.

She felt weird.

 

“What’s going on…?”

Dia muttered under her breath, and she suddenly recalled the clue she had received from the Mastermind at the start of the game.

“Close your eyes.”

It felt stupid then, but what if it actually worked here?

She closed her eyes and the weird feeling of images forming in her vision subsided.

Her mind cleared, though she was still feeling faint.

The clue seemed to have worked, but something still felt off…

There was something she was missing…

Soon, Dia lost consciousness.

.

.

.

.

.

Dia woke with a start.

She looked around her and she realized she was not where she had been before she fainted.

It felt familiar, as if she’s been here before…

Wasn’t this the place she buried Mari?

….How did she end up here?

She walked over to the place where she buried Mari.

She could clearly remember where it was, judging from the placement of rocks and the pattern of trees…

Then, she saw.

Something that she would have never expected…

Something very, very wrong.

Mari’s grave…

It was dug out.

…And Mari was not inside.

 

Dia screamed.

“WHO DID THIS???!!!! THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY. BIG. NO. WHOEVER DID THIS, I SWEAR I’M GOING TO TEAR YOUR THROATS OUT!!!! ”

She was infuriated. She could not calm down.

It was downright disrespectful to the deceased to have dug her out when she was lying there in peace!

Kill them. Kill them. Kill them.

THEY DID NOT DESERVE TO LIVE AFTER DOING SOMETHING SO UNCIVIL!

Dia took out her dagger and blindly aimed her blows on the trees around her.

Then, finally, she landed her last blow onto the ground underneath her as she crouched down.

As her anger begun to subside, a new thought begun to form in her mind.

It sounded absolutely ridiculous, but she entertained it for a moment.

What if… Mari was still alive?

 

 

 

Kanan held Hanamaru’s hand as they walked cautiously.

After yesterday’s death announcements of their friends, they were scared and wary.

They didn’t know who the murderers were and anyone could attack them at any moment when they least expected it.

Suddenly, Kanan’s phone rang.

Kanan checked the caller’s name.

“Mastermind”

She picked up the call.

“My~ My~ It seems you two are under some distress huh~? How about I give you two a clue to a way out of this survival game without killing~? All you have to do, is pass the challenge that I’ve set up a few centimeters away from you two! Since you guys are a pair, I’ve made it just a bit… harder~ Of course, you can choose not to attempt this challenge~ But… would you throw away the one chance to escape this survival game~?”

“…Out with it.” Kanan replied darkly, as she led Hanamaru to the challenge spot.

“Hehe~ I knew you’d listen~ So, see that river in front of you~? All you have to do, is get to the other side and back. Of course, that means the river is dangerous in some way… you’ll figure it out~ …hehe~”

The caller hang up the phone call.

Kanan beckoned Hanamaru to stand aside, while she stepped forward to check on the river.

The river was a dark green, and the currents of the river were moving calmly.

Then, Kanan saw a shape swimming pass in the river.

Something scaly and green…

It was a crocodile.

And there were more of them.

 

Kanan’s phone rang again.

“I see you’ve figured out the danger~ Quite scary isn’t it~? Let’s just say, I only expect one of you to get pass this to consider it a pass~ Your partner can help you out in any way though! Good luck in your challenge, water lover~”

“Are you really going to give us a clue if we pass this challenge?”

“Why yes~ I’ve already given some of your other friends their clue after they passed theirs~ So yes, I’m keeping my word to you two as well~ Have fun~!”

With that, the call ended again.

 

Kanan stood still for a moment in hesitation.

She knew about crocodiles.

How their bites were deadly.

How their saliva carried a massive amount of bacteria which could led a bite wound to infection.

How a lot of people died from their bites.

She had a strong interest in the sea, and anything relating to it, and she had studied it deeply.

Both the wonders and dangers of it.

And crocodile bites were one of those dangers.

It was a huge risk if she were to attempt this challenge.

She could die from the deadly jaws of the crocodiles.

But, if she didn’t attempt this challenge, they would not have a way to get out of this game without killing one another.

And if the others could pass their challenges, surely she could as well right?

Kanan fought to keep the dread surfacing in her stomach down.

She had to do it.

For Hanamaru.

For the rest of Aqours.

 

“Kanan… don’t tell maru…!” Hanamaru started.

“It’ll be okay, Hanamaru. I’ll be careful.” Kanan reassured Hanamaru as she patted her head before walking near the river.

“Just stay there and keep an eye out for me.” Kanan smiled.

Hanamaru hesitated but nodded her head.

Kanan took a deep breath.

It was now, or never.

She lowered herself into the river and begun swimming.

The crocodiles were drifting lazily in the water, a little bit away.

It seemed they had not noticed her.

Kanan swam fast and soon made it safely across to the other side of the river.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she made it pass the first goal.

She turned to see that the crocodiles had grew alert from the movement of the water while she was swimming. They were ready for her now.

One of them crawled from the water, and attempted to bite Kanan, but Kanan leaped out of the way and begun to make her attempt to cross back to the other side of the bank.

The waters were too dangerous to be swam in now, as the crocodiles begun to swim nearer to Kanan.

Kanan leaped nimbly from stone to fallen logs that were drifting in the water.

She leaped onto the ridged back of a crocodile when there were no stones and logs in sight and hopped off before the crocodile could knock her off.

She was soon reaching dry land,

Until suddenly,

She missed a step,

And plummeted into the water.

“KANAN!!!” Hanamaru screamed as Kanan fell with a huge splash.

Kanan was shocked.

She had been caught off guard and missed her footing and that mistake was about to be grave as the crocodiles swam nearer to her.

She panicked and flopped about in the water. Her mind told her to calm down, but her instincts went haywire and told her to get out of the water as quickly as possible.

“KANAN! KANAN! CALM DOWN ZURA! YOU CAN STILL SWIM TO THE BANK BEFORE THEY REACH YOU ZURA!! KANAN!!!!” Hanamaru screamed her lungs out, trying to calm her partner down.

Upon hearing her encouraging words, Kanan stopped her frenzy and begun swimming with all her might to the shore.

The crocodiles were inches away from her now. They were quick in water.

“KANAN!!!!”

Then,

one of the crocodiles

reached Kanan

and bit her leg.

 

Kanan screamed in agony.

“KANAN!! NO!!!!! KANAN!!!” Hanamru was in full panic, she could not just stand there now! Kanan needed her!

By then, Kanan was near the shore and trying to drag herself up despite her injured leg.

The crocodile was still hanging on to her leg.

Hanamaru grabbed ahold of a stick from the ground and scratched wildly at the crocodile’s eye.

The crocodile shook its head violently, making Kanan yelp and splutter with pain.

Then, it snapped back its head and released Kanan as Hanamaru continued her scratches at its weak spot.

Hanamaru stopped her attacks and helped Kanan off the waters.

She supported Kanan as they made their way away from the river as fast as Kanan’s injury allowed.

The crocodiles broke the surface of the water behind them and followed them a little distance, before they gave up and slid back into the river.

 

Hanamaru breathed out a sigh of relief as she stared back at them disappearing into the waters.

She laid Kanan down gently and laid her companion’s injured leg gently onto the soft grass underneath.

Kanan grunted in pain.

Hanamaru bit her lip and bursted out crying.

“Kanan! Kanan!! Why did you have to risk your life like that zura!!!! You could’ve died zura!!! Maru doesn’t want that to happen to zura!! Promise Maru never to risk your life like that again zura!!!”

Why hadn’t she stopped Kanan from attempting it from the start? If she had just stopped her, nothing like this would’ve happened! It was all her fault! If only she could rewind time and changed the course of events…!

“H-Hanamaru… it’s okay… it’s not your fault… I just… wanted to get the clue for us to get out safely alive together without killing anyone… I’m sorry to have made you worry… I-I’m so sorry… I should’ve been more careful… I should’ve been more dependable...” Kanan winced in pain.

Hanamaru stopped sobbing. She had to do something to help Kanan. First aid… first aid… yes, she’ve read those before! If she could clean Kanan’s wound and bandage it, it would prevent the wound from swelling and becoming worse.

She glanced at the river. The crocodiles were well away from it now.

She walked briskly to the river and cupped a handful of water, bringing it back to Kanan. She spilled the water onto her companion’s wound.

Kanan gritted her teeth, as the fresh blood of her wound started to roll down her leg and dripped into the ground underneath her.

Hanamaru took off her yellow cardigan which was layered ontop of her school uniform, and started to use it to wipe Kanan’s wound gently. Then, she flipped it around and started to bandage Kanan’s leg.

After wrapping it around a few times and making sure it wasn’t wrapped too tightly against the wound, Hanamaru looked around for leaves.

She gathered a bunch in her arms and laid it under Kanan’s leg and repeated the process until Kanan’s leg was elevated by it.

Kanan smiled with a furrowed eyebrow.

“T-Thank you Hanamaru… I feel… much better.”

Hanamaru buried her face onto Kanan’s shoulder, wishing she could help ease the pain of her companion’s wound completely.

Kanan’s phone rang, and she picked it up.

“My, my… it looks like I’m interrupting you guys a bit aren’t I? But my, am I impressed… you’ve passed your challenge, despite some… casualties. But as promised, I shall give you a clue~ The clue is… plants~ Happy figuring it out! Hahahahahaha!”

With that, the call ended.

Kanan and Hanamaru stayed where they were in silence.

Then, Hanamaru busted.

“PLANTS???!!! KANAN CROSSED A RIVER OF CROCODILES AND BACK AND ALL WE GOT IS ONE WORD??!! THIS IS RIDICULOUS ZURA!!! MARU IS ANGRY!! MARU WILL NOT REST UNTIL SHE KILLS THE MASTERMIND WITH HER OWN BARE HANDS ZURA!! MARU WILL AVENGE KANAN ZURA!!!”

“I-It’s okay Hanamaru! Calm down! It may just be one word, but it could be an important clue! Getting worked up won’t get us anywhere! At least we may a bit closer to finding an escape route…! Every little bit counts!”

“BUT KANAN ALMOST DIED FOR THIS. JUST ONE WORD, AND THEY ARE SO VAGUE ZURA!!! MARU DOES NOT LIKE THIS ZURA!!! KANAN’S LIFE MEANS MORE ZURA!!!”

Hanamaru was furious. How dare they misled Kanan with their words and got her to do this challenge! All they wanted was to see her die, wasn’t it?! Hanamaru was going to make them pay!!

“Its okay… its okay…”

“ITS NOT OKAY ZURA!!! KANAN’S NOT OKAY!! MARU’S NOT OKAY!!! EVERYTHING’S NOT OKAY ZURAA!!!” Hanamaru continued, and tears begun to spill out of her eyes. She was feeling really upset.

“There, there… look, I’m still here aren’t I? I haven’t died yet, and I won’t go down without a fight! I promise… Look, we’re gonna figure this out together alright? We didn’t do this challenge for nothing. We can do it, Hanamaru. Trust me.” Kanan patted Hanamaru’s back with a smile.

Hanamaru eased down and wrapped her arms around Kanan.

“…Maru… can’t bare to lose you Kanan. Maru loves Kanan zura.”

Kanan laid her head on Hanamaru, and whispered back, “…I love you too Hanamaru. …I promise, I won’t be so careless like that ever again. I won’t leave your side.”

Hanamaru smiled and nuzzled her head on Kanan’s shoulder.

Soon, they began their journey into the land of dreams, convincing themselves that things will be better tomorrow.

 

 

Yoshiko was sitting on the ground, holding up her phone and staring intensely at it.

She was absorbed in the data she had managed to get a hold of from the start of the game.

The moment she had woke up and found herself in this survival game, she immediately tried researching and digging up information using her technology skills.

She was successful, as she had found a log of what seemed to be the mastermind’s conversation with her allies.

 

**Z: Place the things to the left.**

**H: Done at the Kurosawa household.**

**H: Getting the items from Z.**

**K: Gathered the things required. Heading back now.**

**E: Setting the robots on the east side of the forest.**

 

The conversation went on, but what strike her the most was the “Kurosawa Household” mentioned in their conversation.

From that information, she could infer that the mastermind was making use of the Kurosawas or they could be from the Kurosawa household and using it as a place to do important things.

She had not want to risk the latter, and decided to kidnap Ruby which would eventually lead to having Dia drawn out as well.

When she had met You, she had thought she would know where Ruby was, being in the same subunit as her, so she had tried to capture her to make her talk, but that ended in a failure.

Eventually, with luck (how ironic it was, since she was the unluckiest person on Earth), she had bumped into Ruby and Hanamaru walking together.

She then captured Ruby, and bought her to a secluded part of the forest and kept her there, interrogating her in hopes to find out more information which could lead her to concluding whether she was the mastermind or who else it could be.

After many days of trying to get information from Ruby, she had concluded it was of no use, as all she did was cry and say “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Yoshiko!!”

She decided perhaps Kurosawa Ruby was not the mastermind after all,

but her older sister could be.

She vowed once she saw her and confirmed she was the mastermind, she would kill her to put a stop to the killing game.

But despite her deep suspicion towards Kurosawa Dia, she still held the possibility that it could be someone else and so she had decided not to trust anyone with her information, as anyone could be the mastermind and kill her for it.

She placed her phone back into the pocket of her casual dress that was under her dark black cloak, and continued to look out for her main suspect.

She was going to put an end to it all, for the sake of her friends who were innocent, for the sake of bringing justice.

But for now, she would not believe in anything, or anyone.

Until she was entirely sure, and until the justice happened.

Because for now, justice and fairness did not exist in this game.

As if it had, they would not be in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two weeks delay for this chapter, had been really busy and this chapter was a bit hard to write TvT--- had to research a lot on crocodiles and bandages- hopefully the information is right/believable (if not, you guys can correct me-)  
> Hope this chapter was worth the wait and hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! uwu feelsverybadfordoingthistokananwifey-


	9. Faith, Hope and Love

No no no no no, that can’t be it.

Kurosawa Dia, get a grip of yourself!

There’s no way Mari could still be alive.

She was literally stabbed and buried in the ground with your own hands, and you’ve stood through the night, watching her grave and nothing happened.

Imagining Mari coming alive and crawling her way out of the grave was ridiculous.

Dia paced on, feeling increasingly restless.

If she couldn’t accept the fact that Mari was dead and move on, she would end up like Mari. That was what drove her to her death--- not being able to move on and believing in illusions.

She had to accept reality, and move on.

But still, Dia could not help but think, as various questions popped up in her head.

Mysterious things were happening, and she did not know why they were happening.

Or did she?

She paused in her footsteps and thought for a moment.

Was there something she was forgetting, or something that was obvious that she was missing?

Or a sensible reason that could explain the different situations?

 

Dia shook her head to clear her thoughts.

There was no use overthinking this.

It was only making her feel more distressed, and that was not good if she wanted to save Ruby.

She needed a clear mind to focus on her goal.

“Big sister… big sister…”

Her telepathic scream was growing louder. She knew she was closer to finding Ruby.

She walked further on.

Soon, she noticed a black shape a distance away from her.

And behind the shape, was a familiar red haired girl she was looking for.

“Ruby!” Dia exclaimed without thinking.

Her instincts to get to Ruby as fast as possible took over her the moment she recognized Ruby.

She did not think through before going, and soon enough, the black shape shifted swiftly and blocked her way.

“What are you doing?!” Dia spit at the girl who stood in her way.

She was ready to kill her if she had to.

“Big sister!” Ruby exclaimed as she noticed the presence of her sister while in the cage.

“Ruby! It’s okay, big sister is here for you!” Dia called out.

“So, you’re finally here.”

Dia stared at the girl in the black cloak.

She recognized her dark blue hair.

And she confirmed her identity when she saw the bun at the side of the girl’s hair.

“Yoshiko.”

“Yohane.”

“Release Ruby right now.”

“…No. I won’t release her to someone like you. I know what you did.”

“What are you saying?! I’m her older sister! And I deserve to have Ruby back!”

“You’ll have to get through me first then!” as Yoshiko ended her speech, she dived into action.

 

Dia dodged as Yoshiko went for her shoulder with her kunai.

“Yoshiko! What has gotten into you?! Why have you kept my sister in a cage?!”

“She’s your little sister, she must’ve helped you with it too, isn’t it?!”

Yoshiko lunged at Dia again with her kunai, and Dia stumbled backwards out of the way.

"Big sister!" Ruby cried.

"It's okay Ruby! Your big sister will be fine!"

Dia drew out her dagger in preparation for Yoshiko’s next attack.

“You’re not making any sense!”

“Don’t act like you don’t know anything! I saw the conversation!”

“What conversation?!”

Yoshiko went in again with her kunai, and Dia ducked, barely avoiding it.

And just then, Dia stumbled backwards towards the ground.

She had tripped on a rock.

 

And she saw it.

The one thing only the true mastermind would…!

Yoshiko was convinced, and she took the opportunity to take out her opponent while she’s vulnerable.

Smoke busted out and filled the forest as she dropped her smoke bomb.

And she flung her kunai straight towards Dia.

 

Dia lifted herself up slightly as she turned.

Suddenly, she felt the sharp pain of the kunai slice through her throat.

A pool of blood started to pour out from her neck, as she landed back onto the ground.

She tried to scream, but nothing came out of her throat.

Everything spiraled around her.

How could it have ended like this…?

…When she was so close to Ruby…?

………She stared at her little sister, who was calling out and crying desperately over her.

She wished she could at least tell her something before she went.

But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t articulate a single word.

…Her vocal cord was injured.

.….…I’m sorry Ruby…

………….….I wish…. I could’ve been there for you.

……As Dia thought despairingly to herself,

Everything went black.

 

 

 

“Kurosawa Dia is now dead! Thank you all for making this game so much fun for us all~ Let’s all continue to have a fun time together~!”

Kanan froze as she heard the announcement.

Dia… her other childhood friend.

…Dia and Mari… were dead.

She was… the only third year left.

……….It’s okay Kanan, you have Hanamaru. Youhavehanamaruhanmaruhanamaruhanamaru-

She shook herself to clear her thoughts, and looked towards Hanamaru.

She seemed to be distraught.

She must be worried about Ruby.

They were best friends after all, and with Ruby’s older sister gone… it must be really hard for her.

Just then, Hanamaru called out.

“Kanan! I think the critter is talking!”

Kanan followed Hanamaru’s line of sight.

It seemed she was staring at a tiny critter crawling past, with a voice following where it went.

Kanan picked up the critter as it crawled near her.

“I’m looking forward to your next kill~ Hehe~”

And indeed, the critter was… “talking”

Or at least, a voice was coming out of it.

So this was how the Mastermind was making the death announcements.

Robot critters huh?

That meant that the mastermind also depended on it to watch what they were doing.

Why not just announce using their phones though?

…….Maybe because they could lose their phones…?

As Kanan thought deeply, she released the critter from her grip.

Best not to damage it in case it explodes or something.

“It’s okay Hanamaru. The critter’s a robot, so it’s not a real critter talking.” Kanan smiled.

“Ehhhh!! A robot critter?! It’s the future zura!! Maru didn’t know such things existed!” Hanamaru exclaimed, seemingly distracted from her emotions towards the announcement.

Right, Hanamaru lived most of her life in the temple with her… parents.

Even though the world had advanced in technology, Hanamaru still didn’t know much about them and struggled to even use a laptop.

She even almost caused Aqours to lose a bunch of stuff when she accidentally pressed the shut down button once.

 

Just then, a familiar orange haired girl appeared before them.

“Chika?”

Kanan and Hanamaru both turned towards her at the same time.

“Hello there friends~ I’m soooo glad to see you two! It’s been a while hasn’t it~? Ehe~” Chika smiled at them, walking slowly closer.

Kanan noticed something off.

Chika’s clothes were… stained red.

…it’s as if… she killed someone.

……….she’s also holding a dagger in her hand.

“What’s wrong? You’re acting… kind of like Riko… and Mari. Is no one happy to see me anymore?” Chika looked serious for a moment, before regaining her smile.

“That’s okay~ Because… I’m going to make things right from now on. You just have to… give me another chance~”

Kanan was anxious. It was clear Chika wasn’t in her right mind.

And it was clear that she killed someone.

She met with Riko and Mari… that meant that she must’ve killed them.

If that was the case, that was about to happen to Hanamaru and her too.

And she could not let that happen.

She had to protect Hanamaru.

She had to help her find Ruby.

Especially when Ruby’s big sister was gone…

They’re both counting on her.

She reached out to touch the rope hanging by her side.

She turned towards Hanamaru, and mouthed, “Distract her.”

Hanamaru took a second before she seemed to have got it.

She thanked Hanamaru internally for understanding the language of silent mouthing.

 

Hanamaru went for her book, while Chika walked slowly towards Kanan.

It seemed she looked like an easy target.

Figures, since she was literally lying down on the grass while having her left leg propped up.

She braced herself for Chika’s attack.

“Hey Kanan~ I’m really sorry to have pushed you and the rest of Aqours to do things that didn’t make you all happy. I never noticed how unhappy I made everyone until You told me her true feelings. Now, I promise to make things better for everyone. Everyone who has supported me by pretending they were happy while going along with my impulses… I’m going to repay them.”

Chika halted for a while with a… gentle expression on her face.

“I’m sorry I have to do this, but it is for the best. See you again next time, Kanan.”

 

With that, Chika swung her dagger down at Kanan, in an attempt to stab her.

But just then, Hanamaru flung sheets of paper in front of Chika!

It seemed to have come from her book…!

Now’s her chance!

While Chika was distracted, Kanan grabbed onto her hands, snatched the dagger from Chika, and pushed her away.

As Chika fell backwards, Kanan lifted herself up in an attempt to slash Chika.

But as she was lifting herself up, she had forgotten that her left leg was injured and had tried to shift her whole body weight on it to lift herself.

Kanan staggered as she stood, feeling a jolt of pain, and she lost her grip of the dagger.

She fell head first onto the ground.

Rolling over, she noticed Chika reaching out for her dagger.

“No!!” Kanan shouted.

Hanamaru heard Kanan’s scream and ran towards Chika.

She tackled Chika out of the way and grabbed onto the dagger.

Chika recovered from being pushed and faced Hanamaru.

“Hanamaru… why don’t you let me help you? You just have to… hand that item in your hand over… and let me handle the rest. …it’s okay… everything will be over quick… it won’t hurt that much… ehe~”

Kanan noticed something about Chika.

Chika was… wavering…?

Then, she noticed the eye bags on Chika’s eyes.

…Was that why it was… a bit easy to overwhelm Chika during the fight?

“Chika… you’re tired aren’t you?” Kanan spoke.

“Ehehe~ So… you’ve… noticed Kanan…~? It was… a necessary sacrifice. You see, I haven’t slept at all… lately… and… it’s all because I was working…. Sooooo…. Soooo hard to succeed in helping you all…. Ehehe~ My hardwork has paid off with Riko… so… I’m working even harder to achieve it again~ ehe… eheh…………ehe~” Chika spoke as if she was drunk.

Kanan sat silence for a while.

“Chika… there’s a difference between pushing yourself, and pushing yourself too hard. I should know, because… I had a friend who overworked herself once. And she was as passionate as you. …..you should know who I’m talking about. ….it did not end well.”

Kanan spoke, as she thought about Dia.

Chika was acting like how Dia had been once when she had been so fixated on something, that she worked day and night without resting because she thought she could achieve it better from the effort.

“…You don’t understand… Kanan. ….a great amount of hard work is required… if you want to achieve something. So therefore, if I placed all my efforts even during the night… it should equate to good results!”

“Chika. Listen. Even if you believe that, do you really believe killing us would help you make everything right again? Do you really think you could save us all by killing us? Death is death, Chika! No one can make someone alive again!”

“You’re wrong! you’rewrongyou’rewrongyou’rewrongyou’rewrong YOU’RE WRONG!!!”

Chika was too far gone.

It seemed she could not be talked out of it.

 

Chika attempted to snatch her dagger back from Hanamaru.

Hanamaru backed away, surprised at her sudden movement.

“Hanamaru! Do it!” Kanan called out.

Hanamaru hesitated. Did Kanan just told her to kill one of their friends?

She couldn’t do that!

Chika was one of their friends!

She was the one who lead the group and inspired everyone…

Without her, what was Aqours?

If she killed her friend right now…

“Hanamaru!”

Chika tried to snatch the dagger again.

Hanamaru dodged just in time.

If she couldn’t bring herself to do it, she or Kanan might die!

She…she… she had to!!

Her grip on the dagger grew tighter.

Before she knew it, Kanan was already behind Chika holding her back with her rope.

Chika struggled against Kanan’s grip.

She had to do it…She had to do it!!

Hanamaru steeled herself, and strike Chika’s belly with the dagger.

Blood poured out from Chika’s stomach and Chika screamed in pain.

Hanamaru begun pacing backwards.

She… she had hurt her friend…

Nonononononononononononononononono-

Hanamaru turned swiftly and ran away.

“Hanamaru!”

She heard Kanan’s voice calling to her, but she didn’t stop.

She had hurt her friend!

She’s a murderer!

She-

Hanamaru cried, and cried, as she ran.

She wanted to run far far away, so she didn’t need to face reality.

The reality that she was now a murderer.

yOu KiLLeD hEr!

…yOu KiLLeD hEr!

She covered her ears with her hands as she ran, not wanting to hear her inner voices.

She vaguely heard Kanan’s voice following her as she ran further into the forest.

 

Chika felt pain course through her body.

IthurtedIthurtedIthurted-

She felt the feeling of exhaustion overwhelming her.

She fought to stay conscious, but the blood loss was overcoming her.

As she heard Hanamaru’s crying from a few foot length away, Chika felt Kanan lossen her grip on her.

She landed hard on the ground, and placed a hand to her stomach, as blood continue pouring from it.

……..So this was how Riko felt when she was… stabbed by her…

……………Maybe internally, she already knew, that killing everyone wouldn’t help save them all.

...……..But still, she wanted to believe in it.

………….……believe that she could make things better again.

She touched the three leaf clover hairpin at the right side of her hair.

Faith, hope and love.

That was what each of those leaves meant.

...They also represented her family.

The three leaf clover hairpin was given as a shared birthday gift from her big sisters, Shima and Mito, and her mother.

She remembered that birthday party really well, for it meant a lot to her.

It felt comforting to know they cared for her so much.

They had hoped it would guide her in life and let her know that her family were always there for her.

…….If only she had thought back on the three values sooner.

……….She loved everyone so much.

…………She hoped hard that she could make things right again.

………………But if only she had had more faith in herself.

……She should’ve tried harder to convince them.

………There could’ve been a way to save everyone.

…………….If only…..

…….If only she hadn’t believe in such a ridiculous concept… of being able to wish for everyone to be alive again after killing them…

….Things would’ve gone better.

Tears flowed out of Chika’s eyes as she begun to lose consciousness.

“… I’m sorry Shima... I’m sorry Mito… I'm sorry Mum... I’m sorry Aqours…..I’m so, so sorry….”

And her eyes closed, forever in slumber.

 

 

 

When she was sure that her captor had fallen asleep, Ruby got back to work.

She was feeling extremely upset over her big sister, but she had to live on.

She had to stop crying, and toughen up.

………For her big sister…!

…She had been working every night on it, when Yoshiko wasn’t looking.

She ran her hands again and again on the ground, digging up soil.

Yes, she wasn’t going to sit still and do nothing.

She had to be prepared in case she needed an escape route.

So she had been digging a hole to get out of her cage.

So far, her captor had been really nice to her, providing her food and water every day, and she did not seem to have any intention of harming her.

But how long would it last?

What if someone killed her captor and killed her too?

Ruby continued working on her hole.

She had about half the night to work on it, as she needed to ensure she had enough rest to be alert during the day as well.

She was going to survive this, especially when her big sister wasn't around anymore.

……Her big sister would have wanted her to survive, and she wasn't going to let her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhh Did the protagonist just died? Yep, yes, she's now Kurosawa Dead :,) But that's okay, we have the others to lead the story... until who knows when- :,) And yes let us cry for Chika as well- TvT
> 
> I've been struggling with writing lately;; Was trying to figure out how the fights happened- TvT Got help from a friend about fight stances e.g. to help write Kanan with her injured leg- X'D
> 
> Maybe next chapter would be easier to write? (Though I've plan it to be a bit short? But we'll see how it goes- I won't know how long a chapter would be until I write it XD So until next time-


	10. The Forgotten Past

Hanamaru ran and ran, but the voices won’t stop.

She knew she shouldn’t be running like this--- Kanan needed her.

She finally stopped herself and cowered behind a tree.

At least she did not ran too far off.

But the image of blood pouring from Chika’s stomach from the stab that _she_ did, did not leave her mind.

"Takami Chika is now dead! I  hope we'd continue having a fun time together~!"

Hearing the announcement made it worse.

She shivered and shook her head.

Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown-

Hanamaru whispered repeatedly to herself, still putting her hands to her ears.

 

“Hanamaru!”

She eventually heard Kanan called out to her.

“Hanamaru! It’s okay, it’s okay…… I…I’m really sorry to have asked you to… do that. ….We were going to be killed so that’s why…”

Hanamaru hugged Kanan.

She couldn’t speak, but knowing Kanan was there for her, and feeling her presence, really helped calm her down.

She knew Kanan didn’t want to kill Chika too. She could see it in her eyes, the same pain that reflected in her own.

But they both knew Chika could not be reasoned with, and they could’ve died in her hands, if they didn’t do anything.

But still… she hadn’t want to do it…

……Her friends were so, so important to her…

……….Why did it have to end up like this?

She felt Kanan’s hand patting her back, and slowly started to ease down.

….Chika would understand.

She would understand why they had to do it.

…..She had to forgive herself, and move on.

She still had to find Ruby.

Especially when Ruby’s big sister was gone.

Her best friend needed someone to be there for her, and she was going to find her.

As she continued staying in Kanan’s embrace, she felt the familiar sense of comfort again.

……It felt so familiar, as if… there was something more to it.

She had felt this quite a few times now, but never thought much about it.

But recently, some things had been making her feel curious about it.

Like how the crocodile river reminded her of something which had added to her hesitation of letting Kanan do the challenge…

But… why? …She wasn’t scared of water. She was really happy to go fishing with Kanan too… so… what was making her feel like this? …Why had she felt so… hesitant? …But… the crocodile river… was so… so dark…

………………..

………………………….

…………Was she forgetting something? ….Something that happened in the past…

She looked up at Kanan’s face,

and suddenly, vague memories shot through her mind.

It was a stormy weather, and all she saw was dark waters.

Through the crashing waves, she was helpless, trying hard to stay afloat.

She caught a glimpse of a blue ponytailed girl before she sunk under the surface of the water-

 

Hanamaru squealed.

“Hanamaru…?” Kanan spoke softly with a curious expression on her face.

“…..Kanan…. we’ve known each other before… right…?” Hanamaru looked deeply into Kanan’s eyes, searching for an answer.

She’s remembering something.

Something vague…

But, it could be possible…

Kanan hesitated for a moment.

Then, she answered.

“Hahahaha, what do you mean? Of course we do! We all know each other in Aqours right?”

Kanan laughed nerviously.

“…No… We’ve… known each other since… young… right zura?” Hanamaru looked at her determinedly. She needed to know the whole story.

Kanan paused for another moment.

“……….I never thought you’d… remember. ….I thought, I was going to be the only one…”

Slight sobbing sounds broke the silence.

…Was Kanan crying…?

“Kanan…?”

“….I’m… I’m really glad you remember Hanamaru… even… just a little… it makes me happy.” Kanan smiled, tears in her eyes.

“Kanan…. Why are you crying zura? Please don’t cry!” Hanamaru patted Kanan’s back, just like how Kanan would’ve done for her when she’s sad.

Eventually, Kanan calmed down, and Hanamaru drew back from her patting.

“….Yes, we do know each other since young Hanamaru.” Kanan stared gently at Hanamaru while she spoke.

Hanamaru didn’t know what to feel about this, but she felt weird as to why and how had she forgotten about it? It seemed as if it was an important memory…

Then, she recalled the memories of how she was going underneath the surface of the crashing waves.

…….It was something to do with that?

What….

“….It’s okay Hanamaru. It’s okay. ……I’ll tell you the whole story.” Kanan spoke.

Hanamaru looked at Kanan. Exactly what had happened in her past? Why had she forgotten about it?

“……You deserve to know your past. And I feel… it should be a good time now. ….You’re strong enough to handle it now. …..You didn’t want to remember what happened to your parents, Hanamaru.”

“My…parents?” Hanamaru questioned.

Weren’t her parents happily living with her at the temple?

Did something happened to them before?

“….Your temple parents…. They aren’t your true parents, Hanamaru.”

Hanamaru stared, speechless.

“So here’s what happened…”

.

.

.

.

Kanan was out on a ship, sailing with her parents.

They had decided to go out on a trip today with its calming weather.

Little did they know that there would be a stormy weather later.

And that was what happened right in that moment.

The sky was dark, and the sea beneath it rose as great mountains, anger in the form of water, turbulent and unforgiving.

Flashes of lighting tore the sky, and the sounds of thunder screamed loudly in Kanan’s ear.

The ship was riding unevenly on the sea now, but their ship was big enough and well equipped, and they wouldn’t crash easily in this thunderstorm.

Still, it was uncomfortable sailing out in a thunderstorm, and Kanan would much prefer to be at home.

She was glad to hear that her parents decided to turn back the ship and sail back home.

Just as they turned ship, Kanan spotted a ship crashing under a huge wave in a distance.

Kanan let out a wail.

The storm was getting dangerous!

They had to leave as soon as possible…!

But Kanan didn’t want to leave the people of the sunken ship behind.

If a ship had crashed, it meant that there were people inside…

She begged her parents to sail towards them.

Her parents reluctantly agreed.

They were well equipped, they should be fine…

But as they neared the spot where the ship sunk, no one seemed to be in sight.

Then, they spotted a tiny boat with a brown haired young girl crying helplessly on top.

Soon, a wave sunk the tiny boat, and the young girl dipped into the dark water’s surface for a while before resurfacing.

She had to save her!!

Kanan quickly found a rope and tied it to her life jacket.

She then tied the other end to the ship’s handle before jumping off the ship.

She was only seven years old, but she had taken swimming lessons when she was four.

She could do this.

She vaguely heard the screams of alarm of her parents from behind her.

Figures, because a seven year old girl jumping into a stormy sea is crazy, even if she was a competent swimmer.

But she had to do it! If there was a chance she could save someone, she’d take it!

She swam against the tide of the sea.

Splashes of water from the rushing waters was obscuring her vision, but she caught a glimpse of the young brown haired girl before she once again sunk under the surface of the sea.

Kanan dived into the sea.

The water was calmer than it was at the surface.

She reached the young girl, grabbed her by her waist and dragged her up, making sure her head was above the water for her to breathe.

She felt a tug on the rope.

Her parents were helping to pull her back to the ship!

Kanan held on to the rope with one hand, with the other holding on to the young girl.

Soon, she reached back safely onto the ship with the young girl.

But before she knew what happened next, she fainted.

.

.

.

.

.

When Kanan awoke, she found herself back home, warm and dry in her casual clothes.

She was lying on top of a couch.

She sat up, looked around the room, and found the young girl she rescued on the opposite couch, sitting up, seemingly dazed.

She went up and checked whether the girl was okay.

“Hello there… are you alright?”

“….zura? …where’s mama?” the young girl stared at Kanan with a look of confusion on her face.

….Oh dear.

…….Did she forgot what happened?

Kanan looked at the young girl for a moment, before deciding she didn’t want to tell her what happened just yet, worrying it would scare her and make her upset.

“…Your mama left you here with us for a while since she’s going somewhere far for a little while before returning. She hopes you’d have a fun time here for now.”

“…..What’s your name zura…?”

“My name’s Kanan, what’s yours?”

“…I’m Hanamaru, zura.”

“Heya Hanamaru! It’s nice to know you! Let’s have fun while we’d together, alright? I’d introduce you to some of my friends!”

.

.

.

.

.

And so Kanan and Hanamaru spent time together while they lived in the same house.

Hanamaru was scared of the water at first, though she didn’t know why…

But Kanan managed to help her overcome her fear while sharing the wonders of the sea with her.

Hanamaru was fascinated by it and eventually tried going near the sea and did some water activities.

Both of them had a lot of fun living together---playing with their food and getting scolded by Kanan’s parents, reading interesting books together, playing near the sea.

Hanamaru even helped out with Kanan at Kanan’s parent’s diving shop from time to time.

Kanan also introduced her to Mari and Dia and they all went out to play together sometimes!

….But eventually, all good times had to come to an end.

.

.

.

.

.

“Kanan…” Hanamaru whispered softly to Kanan.

They were lying on the sand, staring up at the stars in the sky.

Kanan was a big fan of star constellations and loved talking in depth about them.

She had just shared a bunch of them to Hanamaru, which Hanamaru responded cheerfully to, having read about them herself and finding it interesting.

“…When do you think my parents would come and take me back zura?”

Kanan gazed silently back at Hanamaru.

She knew one day, Hanamaru would ask this question.

…..And she had already knew what she had to do now.

“…They would soon, Hanamaru. You’d see.” Kanan smiled at her.

Kanan had talked to her parents about it.

They knew a kind pair of parents taking care of a temple who would drop by their diving shop just to talk once in a while.

They were really supportive of them.

They would take good care of Hanamaru, as if they were their own child.

“I really miss them zura…”

“….I know. ….But I’m glad... they decided to leave you here for a while. I had a lot of fun getting to know you, Hanamaru!”

“…Maru had a lot of fun with you too, zura! Maru would miss you too!”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“So eventually the temple parents took you in and took care of you. …Somehow, when we met each other in Aqours a few years later, you didn’t recognized me though.” Kanan smiled melancholically.

“…Then I thought I was going to be the only one who remembered… but I understand why you’d forget about it. …To completely erase the memory of that incident ever happening…… And I knew it wouldn’t be fair if I shared with you then what happened. ….I was worried. ….worried that you’d be sad again… I…”

Kanan paused, tears in her eyes again.

….It must’ve been hard for her.

….To keep memories of the fun times you’ve had with someone close to you, while that person did not remember it ever happening…

……….Kanan must’ve felt so alone…

Hanamaru hugged Kanan, comforting her.

“….It’s okay Kanan. You’re not alone now, zura.”

And that was all Kanan needed to hear.

The two cuddled close together and called it a night.

“…We’ll make it out together, with Ruby…” Hanamaru murmured.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And then she saw it.

The one thing only the true mastermind would… _never_ do.

Yoshiko had known Dia wasn’t the mastermind the moment she had tripped on a rock.

Because the true mastermind would’ve been good at navigating in this forest to prevent herself from getting killed.

Having confirmed Dia wasn’t the mastermind, she knew she didn’t had to kill her.

….But she wanted to keep Dia safe, so she had created an illusion.

The illusion that Dia died from the slicing of her Kunai throw.

By making everyone else think that Dia was dead, Dia would not really be killed by someone. This was a survival game after all.

She had intentionally missed her throwing of her kunai a few centimeters away from Dia’s neck, and while smoke filled the forest, she had used that time to draw out her tarot cards and chant.

….Magic did not existed in this world, but illusions did, and the Tsushima family had discovered this secret through the tarot cards generations ago.

They had found chanting a certain phrase, holding a certain tarot card, while imagining the illusion you want in your head would help create an illusion that would be seen by everyone else other than the user.

There were drawbacks to it however.

Using this trick would make you more tired than you did before.

So there was a limit as to how many times, in a certain period of time, the user could use it.

And Yoshiko was feeling that exhaustion right now, after doing the trick.

But she had managed to pull through moving Dia’s body elsewhere while in the smoke.

The illusion wouldn't mask Dia's body forever after all, so she had to move her somewhere safe.

While anyone involved or looking at the scene was deceived by the illusion, she could do what she wanted for that moment without them knowing what really was going on.

 

Now that the smoke was cleared, she was now back at the spot where she had kept Ruby hostage.

If Dia wasn’t the mastermind, there was still a chance Ruby may or may not be…

As she pondered about what to do now, she suddenly caught a glimpse of grey hair closing in on her in a distance.

She turned to face the person, and she realized it was You.

“It’s been a while, Yoshiko.” You smirked darkly.

…Yoshiko had a bad feeling about this.

…….You seemed kind of… off.

Well, sucks. Time to prepare herself for the worse. (Knowing her luck, it was probably the worse anyway)

“Yes, it has been.”

“….Do you know why I’m here?” You circled the gun in her hand.

“…Why?”

“….I’m here for revenge. …..You hadn’t forgotten, have you? …What you did to my uniform.”

Yoshiko stood silence for a while, trying to figure out what You meant.

She thought back on the time she met You before she captured Ruby.

…

…….

….Oh.

“….It was not on purpose.” Yoshiko replied nonchalantly.

“….Not on purpose? ….NOT ON PURPOSE???!!”

Oh dear.

Well, curse her bad luck, she’d made her angry. (Not that she hadn’t seen it coming. Her life is the definition of bad luck anyway, she’s been through all the worse things and here’s another to add to her long list of unfortunate incidents. Well, screw it.)

“ONCE SOMETHING IS DONE, IT CAN’T BE UNDONE!!! AND WHAT YOU’VE DONE IS THE GREATEST SIN OF ALL!! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF A UNIFORM??!! THE BEAUTY AND DIVINESS OF IT??!! OF COURSE YOU DON’T, ALL YOU DO IS GO AROUND AND ACT LIKE SOME SHADY CLOWN!! DEMONS THIS, DEMON THAT! HAH! UNIFORMS ARE WAYYYY BETTER AND IM GOING TO KILL YOU FOR SHOWING SUCH DISRESPECT TO IT!!!”

“…ya da, ya da ehh yep, I’m some stupid clown going around shouting little demons… as if I didn’t know already. Way to make me feel worse about myself.” Yoshiko murmured to herself.

Sigh. Why did she always had to deal with these problems…

But here it comes, yay.

At the worse possible timing.

But it’s alright.

Because she had a trump card.

She just had to be careful not to let her exhaustion hinder her…

 

You started shooting frantically at her target, Yoshiko dodged swiftly.

Having faced You’s bullets before, it was easier to avoid them, though risky.

She had to do something soon…

She hid behind a tree.

Alright, think fast Yoshiko.

The chant… the chant…

And as You found her behind the tree, she dropped her smoke bomb.

 

Smoke filled the forest.

You couldn’t see where Yoshiko was in the smoke, but she continued shooting frantically.

SHENEEDSTODIESHENEEDSTODIESHENEEDSTODIESHENEEDSTODIE-

Then, eventually as the smoke cleared, she spotted a body lying on the floor.

She walked closer to it, and spotted the signature dark blue bun on the dead body’s head.

Yoshiko was dead.

Hehehehehehehehehehehehe

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE

SHE DID IT!!!!!

SHE DID IT!!!!!!

SHE FINALLY HAD HER REVENGE.

She laughed hysterically, and she kneeled down, dropped her guns and placed her hands to her stomach.

LONG LIVE UNIFORMS.

DEATH TO THE SINNER!!!

HHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHHEHE-

FULL SUCCESS!!

And as You finally calmed down, she thought,

“Or should I say… FIBER LOST. …hehe.”

That’s something Yoshiko would have said, right? Being the anime fan she was, and having introduced her to that particular anime…

Hehehe but in this case, she had won. The uniform that topped every other clothes and gained its fiber!! Hehehehehe-

She picked her guns back up, stood up like a zombie, and turned around.

She looked at Ruby with blood thirsty eyes.

Heheheheehehehehheheheeh-

If she’d managed to take down one, who said she should stop now?

Hehehehehehhe-

If she could kill them all and make it out alive, her uniform would be safe too right?

HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHE-

But just then, another thought came into her mind.

…..Surely that brown haired girl was looking for her best friend, Ruby right…?

She smiled darkly.

……She’d spare Ruby for now, and lure her out…

Then after killing her, she’d finish off the rest.

….Yes, that was what she’d do.

She laid down near the cage where Ruby was held, ignoring the slight sounds of fright the girl was making, and slept peacefully.

She’d finish them all.

……All for her uniform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you thought the chapter was gonna be short but it became your longest chapter by far- X’DD  
> It was interesting researching about life jackets and shipwrecks/waves-  
> And yes, fiber lost was a Kill la kill reference ;) It’s a really good anime!
> 
> Since we’re gonna confirm/reveal the mastermind next chapter, lemme ask yall some questions that may (or may not) help >:3  
> Is the mastermind dead or alive?  
> Is everyone truly already dead?  
> Is the mastermind from Aqours?  
> Do you believe in (insert character’s name here)? The characters are all interpreting things from their perspective and their sanity might be decreasing so-  
> ….Let’s see if you got the mastermind right ;)
> 
> Next chapter would be longer, so it’d take a while-  
> Rough goal to post on 11 may uwu  
> I’d see yall next chapter! ^^
> 
> Until then, lemme know who you think the mastermind could be and why! (And whether that's who you suspected before my questions in end notes~ :3)  
> ^^ It’s interesting to know what people think!


	11. Worthlessness

“Tsushima Yoshiko is now dead! Hehehehehe~! You’re all doing a good job lately~! I hope to see the final survivor soon~!”

Hanamaru and Kanan heard the announcement as they were in the midst of their search for Ruby.

With the few amount of survivors left, it was clear who could be the murderer…

…It was either You or Ruby.

Hanamaru did not want to believe the latter.

Ruby was her best friend and she’s known her for so long.

A pure and innocent girl like Ruby would not be the murderer.

She isn’t even strong enough to do so!

Which leaves You.

You was a murderer…

She didn’t want to believe it.

She didn’t want to believe that any of the Aqours members, the friends who she’ve spend so much time together, would be a murderer.

But during her first encounter with You, she had shot bullets at her with her guns with the full intention of hurting her.

Which reinforced the fact that she was a murderer.

…But could she really think badly of her?

……After all, wasn’t she a murderer as well?

No, it was different.

She did it to protect her friend and herself.

 

Hanamaru shook off the thoughts in her head, and focused back on searching for Ruby.

They were moving a bit slower due to Kanan’s leg injury, but it was better than before.

Kanan seemed to be handling it better now.

…They could do this.

They would find Ruby and get out together.

Kanan was doing her best, and she should too.

Yes! She won’t give up yet!

 

Soon, she caught sight of a familiar grey haired girl from a distance.

She seemed to be looking around, and she was standing in front of a thorn made cage, seemingly guarding it.

Hanamaru peered closer, and she immediately recognised her red haired friend, sitting in the cage.

Ruby!!

They’ve finally found her!

…But things did not seem good.

You was holding her captive in a cage, which meant they had to get through You to get to Ruby…

And with the current state they were in, it was going to be risky.

They would need to come up with a plan…

Hanamaru beckoned Kanan to look in the direction she was looking.

Kanan quickly understood the situation, carefully observed the location, and closed her eyes, seemingly in thought.

Before long, Kanan smiled at her, and whispered a plan in her ears.

 

 

 

It was risky.

It was dangerous.

But it was the only thing Kanan could think of, and if it was a chance to help them save Ruby, she’d take it.

It’s going to be okay.

She just had to be careful…

And if she did slip up, Hanamaru would be there to back her up.

 

She walked right towards where You was.

“Hello, You.”

“It’s been a while, Kanan.” You smiled darkly.

It was clear that she had the full intention to kill her right then, and now.

“Where’s your little friend, huh? Weren’t you together with her the last time I saw you?”

“We spilt up.”

“…Huh! As expected of a sinner to have left her own savior behind! I always knew she wasn’t a good person.”

You drew closer, lifting up her guns to face Kanan.

Kanan backed away slowly.

Any moment now…

“I was expecting her to show up first, to save her red haired friend over here. But that’s okay… Now that you’re here, let’s have some fun!!”

 

You began shooting, but just as she shot, a ray of light blinded her, and her shots went up to the sky instead, as she raised her hands.

Kanan smiled as she stole a quick glance to Hanamaru, who was hiding behind the bushes.

Hanamaru had used her glasses to reflect light towards You, which had blinded her and made her miss her shots.

As You was distracted, Kanan managed to move closer to her destination.

Almost there…

You recovered from the blinding of light.

She looked around, feeling agitated, and she spotted Hanamaru.

“Why you little!! So you were here all along?!!”

As You was about to head straight for Hanamaru, Kanan shouted loudly.

“Over here, you grey haired grandma! What? Fazed by a bit of light?!”

Angered, You ran towards her.

Her provocation worked well.

Just a little more…

As You was trying to reach Kanan, Hanamaru threw tiny stones at her, hindering her shooting.

“ARGH” You groaned in frustration.

Kanan ran as fast as she could with her injured leg.

…And she did it.

She reached a river, the destination she was heading for!

And You had followed her right to it…!

She smiled at You, and dived into the river.

You paused for a few seconds when she reached the river, but she followed Kanan, and dived in without a thought.

 

In the water, she had to use her legs…

It hurt, it hurt so much…!!

But she had to bear with it.

…In the water, You couldn’t use her guns.

Which made being under water in the river, the perfect opportunity for her to win the fight.

She turned around and faced You.

You was angrily swimming towards her.

She tried pulling the trigger of her guns, but it was of no use.

Having realised how useless her weapons were under water, she let go of them.

As You reached Kanan, Kanan dodged, and grabbed hold of You’s waist from behind.

You struggled under her grip.

“Let…go of me!! You don’t understand… the importance of uniforms…!” You’s voice sounded muffled underwater.

“…I know… why you’re so obsessed over your uniform, You…! Because… I am the same…!”

Kanan had thought about it during the fight.

How she was so reliant on Hanamaru, and how Hanamaru had made her feel secured, like there was something worth living for.

She had realised perhaps You felt the same about her uniform.

“…No… you’re… not!” You objected.

“It’s the only thing that makes you feel secured right now, isn’t it…?”

You froze as she heard Kanan’s words.

Seeing the gleam in You’s eyes, Kanan reached for her rope on her shorts, and pulled it tightly inwards on You’s neck.

 

You began to choke, and lots of bubbles began forming out of her mouth.

She struggled harder against Kanan’s grip, but Kanan would not let go.

Kanan’s words rang in her ears again and again.

_It’s the only thing that makes you feel secured right now isn’t it?_

…

……

…It was true.

…….When she had first found herself in this survivor game, she was so scared.

She did not know what to do, she had no one to rely on.

And the only thing she could turn to was her uniform.

…Her uniform made her feel secured.

……Her uniform was there when she needed it the most.

………Her uniform brought her comfort.

…The comfort she needed when she was faced with this tough situation.

…….

…………

…….But feeling so obsessed over a uniform, to the point of hurting her friends…

….She shouldn’t have done it.

…….She should never have hurt her friends…!

….If only…

Things could have turn out differently…

…She would…!

Soon, her vision was filled with black.

Just a void of empty, nothingness.

 

 

 

 

“Kanan! Kanan?? Are you alright, zura?!”

Hanamaru was standing near the river.

She had rushed there after moments of them not resurfacing the water.

When she had reached there, she had peered into the river, trying to find them.

…But there was no sight of them…

…..Where could they have gone…?

……She started sobbing.

What if…

….What if Kanan didn’t…

Didn’t make it…?

….No…. No, it can’t be…!

 

And just then, she caught sight of a familiar blue haired girl.

“Kanan!!!”

Hanamaru ran right towards Kanan, giving her a big hug.

“….I was so worried zura!! Where had you went??”

“…The river carried us downstream a bit. It’s okay, I’m here now. I’m alright, Hanamaru.” Kanan smiled, as she gave Hanamaru comforting pats on her back.

Hanamaru smiled with tears in her eyes.

“I’m…I’m so glad you’re alright, zura…!!”

They stayed like that for a while, before turning to face in the direction of Ruby’s cage.

“Let’s get Ruby out of there.”

Hanamaru nodded.

 

As they reached Ruby’s cage, they realised she had got out herself.

“Hanamaru!! Kanan!! Ruby’s so glad to see you two!” Ruby ran towards Hanamaru and gave her a hug, and she smiled in Kanan’s direction.

Kanan smiled back at her.

“Ruby!! How did you..?!” Hanamaru started.

“Ruby dug a hole!! She had been preparing to get out when it was safe or if she was in danger!” Ruby beamed in pride.

“Wow!! Ruby’s so cool zura!!” Hanamaru’s eyes sparkled.

“Hehe, thank you Hanamaru! Ruby’s so glad to see you again!! …But big sister… she…she’s dead……Ruby…Ruby couldn’t do anything… Ruby should have…!”

“…It’s okay Ruby. It’s okay…”

Ruby cried in Hanamaru’s arms.

 

 

Later that night, they settled down in an area with logs and rocks.

An announcement had been made about You’s death a while ago.

It had made them feel guilty and upset, but they knew they hadn’t had a choice, with You the way she was…

Rather than letting it haunt them, they decided to catch up on things then get ready to sleep for the night.

Ruby and Hanamaru talked on and on, sharing giggles occasionally.

Kanan listened quietly from the side.

…They seemed to be getting along really well…  

…..Better than when it was just her and Hanamaru.

……

……..No Kanan, don’t think that.

…..You’re as important to Hanamaru.

……

………

………..But Ruby doesn’t have an injury like her…

……All she would do was burden them…

……Dark thoughts started filling her mind…

Hanamaru doesn’t need you anymore.

She has Ruby now…

All you’d do is burden them and get them killed…

….You shouldn’t be here, Kanan.

….You’re worthless.

Worthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthless…

WoRtHLeSS.

 

Kanan stood up slowly from her sitting position.

Both Hanamaru and Ruby turned towards her.

“Where are you going, Kanan?” Hanamaru questioned.

“…I’m going to… take a little walk…”

“At this time? Do you want maru to accompany you, zura?”

“…It’s okay. I just need…some time to myself…” Kanan forced a smile.

“Alright, don’t be back too late zura!”

“No worries.”

With that, Kanan walked off further into the forest.

 

 

 

The forest was dark and cold.

….Fitting for someone as useless as her.

With her leg like this, how could she ever dive again?

….How could she protect the ones close to her?

What was the point of living, when the one and only person who she was living for, was taken away from her?

……

…………..

…..All her life, she had always been the one who comforted others when they needed it.

She was always there for them.

….But when she needed it the most, she would tell everyone that she was okay, that she was alright, because she didn’t want them to worry…

….But internally, she wanted someone to care for her too.

Someone to be there for her, just like she was for them.

….Then she met Hanamaru in the survival game, right at the start, as if it was fate.

And since then, Hanamaru had cared for her, just like she cared about her.

……

………

…….For once, she had felt cared for.

….She felt…comforted.

…….And it meant even more, coming from someone so precious to her since young.

….

……..

….But now…

…….Now Hanamaru had Ruby.

She didn’t need her anymore.

…..And if no one needed her…

……And if she had nothing to strive for anymore…

……..What was the point of being alive?

…..There was no reason to be alive.

If she could never dive again,

Never do the thing that made her who she was,

The thing she was passionate about…

Why should she live?

If Hanamaru didn’t need her anymore,

And she could not even protect her with her leg like this,

Why should she live?

….It’s okay.

……Hanamaru wouldn’t be sad without her because she has Ruby.

……..And it’s better for Hanamaru that way.

……………She wouldn’t burden her anymore.

Worthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthlessworthless

Uselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuselessuseless

….The words continued to fill her head.

Kanan stepped on top of a log, and tied her rope in a hook on a tree branch.

Youshoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddieyoushoulddie

………The thoughts wouldn’t go away.

She positioned the hook around her neck…

Tighten it…

And…

Stepped

Off

The

Log.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It had been a while, and Kanan had not yet came back.

It was starting to worry Hanamaru.

…It was just the three of them left, so there shouldn’t be any murderers now.

…But a forest at night was dangerous.

….You never know what could be in it, and you couldn’t see well in the dark.

…..What if Kanan ran into a dangerous creature?

……What if Kanan tripped on something and injured herself again?

…….That’s it.

All this worrying wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

She’s going to go out and find Kanan!!

Hanamaru headed in the direction Kanan had went.

“Hanamaru?? Hanamaru! Where are you going??” Ruby called from behind.

“Maru’s going to find Kanan zura!”

“Ah! Wait up!! Ruby will follow you too!”

 

 

 

The two walked on into the forest.

After a while, they spotted the familiar blue haired girl they were looking for.

....Except that...

She was hanging with a roped tied to her neck from a tree.

"No...no...nonononono!! This can't be happening zura!! This can't be real zura!!" Hanamaru stepped backwards away from the scene.

"Hanamaru! Hanamaru...! Calm...calm down!!" Ruby started.

"Maru can't calm down...Kanan...Kanan...!! She...She...!!"

"Please! Hanamaru...! Ruby... Ruby knows how Hanamaru feels... Ruby knows it must be hard on Hanamaru but... Hanamaru needs to stay strong! ...That's what Kanan would have wanted." Ruby continued trying to calm Hanamaru down.

"But... but Kanan... why... why did she...? ....Maru should've gone with her... Maru...failed to save Kanan zura...!"

"It's not your fault, Hanamaru! You didn't know! Don't be so harsh on yourself! I know it’s hard right now, but we need to move on. We need to survive. ...It's going to be okay, Hanamaru."

Hanamaru cried, and Ruby hugged her tight.

They stayed like that for a few moments.

"...Let's get Kanan off from there, Hanamaru."

Hanamaru nodded, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

 

 

The two carefully undid the rope and lowered Kanan to the ground.

Hanamaru cried as she stared at Kanan's lifeless body.

"Kanan... Maru's so so sorry zura...Maru wishes... Kanan is in a better place now... living peacefully, and happily... Maru... Maru will stay strong for you, Kanan. Maru will find a way out of here. ...It's what Kanan would have... would have wanted right zura?" Hanamaru broke down again as she ended her speech.

Each word felt like a rock in her throat.

It was so hard to speak, so hard to believe Kanan wasn't alive anymore...

Ruby stared sadly at her, and patted her on the back.

Hanamaru wiped away the tears on her cheeks again.

"Maru will stay strong...for Kanan zura. Maru will!!"

With the newfound determination in her heart, she began digging at the ground with her hands.

Ruby joined in on the digging.

As they dug deeper and deeper, it eventually became big enough to fit a body.

They lifted Kanan’s body and carefully placed her into the hole.

Then, they covered her with the sand that was dug from the hole.

When they finished, Hanamaru gave one last pat on the grave.

"I'll never forget you Kanan." Hanamaru whispered.

Ruby looked sadly at the grave as well.

"Ruby hopes Kanan is in a better place now. Ruby will not forget Kanan either."

 

Together, they moved away from the grave and went back to the place they were in before to settle for the night.

With Kanan's body buried, they wouldn't have to worry about it rotting away or being eaten by creatures.

And they needed a place away from the grave to distract them from their grief.

Though restless, they eventually drifted off into a slightly disturbed sleep.

 

 

 

 

"ZURA!!"

Hanamaru woke up from a nightmare.

The image of Kanan being hung while she could do nothing but look played again and again in her head.

No!! Stop!! Don't think about it, Maru! You said you'd stay strong for Kanan!

Hanamaru shook away her thoughts and looked around.

She spotted Ruby holding some apples in her hand.

So there was apple trees near here!

Ruby approached Hanamaru and sat down beside Hanamaru.

"What's wrong, Hanamaru? Did something happen?" Ruby asked.

"Ah! Err... It was just a bad dream zura!"

"...Hanamaru is still disturbed about... Kanan's death huh?"

"..."

"Ruby is really sad too... but Ruby also believes that Hanamaru and Ruby must stay strong to survive and get out of this game! That's what the other aqours members would have wanted. That's what Kanan, and big sister would have wanted!"

"mm...and we have a clue because Kanan and Maru went through a challenge to get one zura..." Hanamaru agreed.

"Yep! That's the spirit Hanamaru! Ruby knows it’s hard now, but it'll be better later on Hanamaru. We'll figure it out together and get out of here! ....Come on, let's eat something so we can have the energy to move!"

 

Ruby handed Hanamaru an apple, and took a bite of her own.

Hanamaru smiled, and took a bite of the apple handed to her.

It was juicy, crunchy and tasty!

Food was a big comfort to her at times like this...

But just then, she felt a bit drowsy.

....eh?

"Maru...Maru feels... off... zura...Maru-"

"....... Ruby's sorry Hanamaru." Ruby stood up and stared at her silently.

Huh?

"Ruby... poisoned your apple."

Wha-

And just then, she saw a glimpse of a syringe in Ruby's hand.

….Ruby's weapon.

...Why... How...?

"Ruby... will see you next time, Hanamaru."

The world begun spinning crazily in Hanamaru's vision.

She thought back on Kanan,

She thought back on her promise with Ruby,

She thought about what was happening right now.

....Betrayer...

.......Kanan.....

Maru...

.....Maru's really sorry.

Hanamaru collapsed onto the ground.

 

 

Ruby stared for a while longer at Hanamaru.

Then, she pulled out her cell phone from the inside of her shirt.

...An extra hidden phone that could be used to contact anyone outside the game, unlike the phone that couldn't like the rest of the participants of the survival game, which was placed in her skirt.

She dialled a number that was all so familiar to her.

...And the caller picked up.

"...The plan had been successful. ....Sakurauchi Riko." Ruby whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TvT Opf much despair ahhh-  
> But there we go, Riko is the mastermind and Ruby’s an accomplice;;  
> This is “Scarlet Red”, and the red hair girls were the culprits all along uwu- 
> 
> If you took the initials of Scarlet Red, and placed it backwards, it would form “RS”, therefore the two names in Aqours that had “R” as the first letter of their name-  
> I also named this AU “Scarlet Red” because there’s blood and Dia the protagonist had red as her image colour X’D (I don’t expect anyone to have figured all this out from the title, but these were my thoughts when giving this AU its title X’D )
> 
> For those from Instagram, please don’t kill me X’D I did not choose Riko as mastermind because she’s my best girl- Rather, I thought it would develop her character and be an interesting take- (Plus my other two best girls are dead so :,) )
> 
> The reasons will be explained next chapter and I’d be starting to tie loose ends! ^^  
> I’d also be discussing the guesses you all given next chapter~  
> Good job if you guys had Riko or Ruby as your guesses! ^^ If not, your guesses are all still valid!! ^^ And I appreciate that you all shared them with me <3 It was interesting hearing all your guesses and how you all interpreted the story~ And it was a blessing to know, being a writer rather than a reader for once- XD
> 
> I hope this chapter was a good read, and I’d see yall next chapter! ^^


	12. Our Never Ending Stage

Riko laid still on the ground after Chika stabbed her in the stomach.

After some time, she heard the voices of Chika and Mari fading away, and she turned to lie on her back.

Hehehe...

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE

Stupid Chika.

Stupid, stupid Chika.

That orange haired idiot doesn't even know to stab the vital parts of someone to kill them!

All she did was stab her non vital part of her stomach,

And what's more...

She was prepared for it.

She was prepared to survive and fake her death if someone went after her!

She had taken a drug that could help her regenerate blood cells and heal wounds, and her wound was recovering right at that moment.

Hehehe...

HEHHEHEEHE

 

Of course, there was a risk of dying if someone stabbed her in a vital spot...

But what's the point if she herself did not participate in this survival game that she created?

...The survival game that she created, to have fun with everyone in Aqours again!

Welcome song~ Our hearts become one... and this place is our never ending stage.

Indeed, Maki's song had captured the way she felt.

Listening to that song had resonated with her and inspired her to start this game.

It had been a hassle, but it was worth it!

Having fun in this stage together and dying in it... they would forever be together in this never ending stage!!

...The third years would never graduate!

Aqours would never disband!

T h e y w o u l d n e v e r g o t h e i r s e p a r a t e w a y s.

HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE

HAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHHAAH

AAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJAAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHH

They would be together forever!!

Aqours, the group she held so dear to her heart...

The friends who made her feel like she belonged... and accepted.

How could she let all that end?

How could she let the third years graduate?

How could she wait till the day where slowly they all left school and Aqours disband and they all went their separate ways?

S h e c o u l d n ' t.

 

After all, this was the group, the friends who made her feel s e c u r e d.

Unlike her days in Tokyo...

...Nothing she did was enough.

....She always felt left out.

.......A loner.

...She was always living under a rock, indulging herself in her passion, not knowing even the most popular group in her school, Muse.

...Not knowing the joy of having friends, or the joy of performing on stage as a group.

....She was always alone, playing her piano on stage.

......Somehow the music that she played on the piano had always felt... empty.

...A longing...

.....Sadness.

Eventually she had decided to take a break and move to Uchiura.

...And that was the day, she had heard the piano playing of Maki.

She had met the orange haired girl, Chika, when she first arrived in Uchiura, and she had introduced her to muse.

Afterwards, she looked it up online.

... It was... lively.

.... It was... joyful.

The things that she had lacked in her own piano playing.

She wanted it.

She needed it.

She researched endlessly about Maki and Muse to understand it, the feeling that she was lacking...

....But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't grasp it.

So close...

Yet so far.

....

.....But that was when Chika started Aqours, and despite being reluctant at first, she joined them.

....And eventually she was able to feel the emotions she had been looking for.

 

...And now she's here.

It had been hard to set up the game.

But she did it.

HEHEHEHEHEHE

When the topic of the third years having to graduate was brought up, she had saw it.

The same spark of feeling that reflected in her own eyes.

...Ruby Kurosawa.

She did not want the third years to leave.

She did not want her older sister to leave.

...Knowing how her junior felt, she had convinced her to aid her in the set up.

 

With the help of the Kurosawa secret agents that Ruby convinced to help them, they had managed to seize their hands on drugs that helped them brainwash the government and parents.

With the government brainwashed, they were able to get a place to hold the survival game.

A forest near Uranohoshi, the place where they spent their summer camp once.

A place that held dear memories, and a place near the school that was dear to them where they shared plenty of wonderful times together.

The Kurosawas was the 2nd richest family in the world, right after the Ohara family, and they were skilled and shady and liked to keep a low profile about it.

With the wealth and skills, the Kurosawa secret agents were able to build robot critters, robot trees and even a control room to watch over the survival game.

They were even able to surround the place with mist that would knock you out and make you sleep walk to another place.

 

The survival game was set just a few days before the third years had to graduate, and just when Aqours was having a break.

Riko had one of the Kurosawa agents to speak through the phone and robot critters to make announcements and to communicate with the participants.

And the other Kurosawa agents would look through the control room and monitor the game before Riko could come and take over that role.

 

Riko had set it up so that the different Aqours members woke up at different spots and that they would each have outfits and weapons that she felt fit them most.

Clothes that they liked as a gift of friendship... and weapons to have fun in their never ending stage. It was a nice thought.

Ruby had helped sew the clothes while the weapons were given by the Kurosawa secret agents.

She had also set it up so that she had the most time to get use to the terrain and her weapon before Mari made it to find her.

 

It was a risk to partner up with Mari and find Yoshiko, but she had it in plan so that she could keep an eye on Yoshiko when they teamed up.

She knew about how skilled Yoshiko was in technology, and if she did find things she shouldn't know... she would kill her immediately. And if Mari knew... she could kill her easily because the weapons she had given Mari were harmless traps.

But it didn't turn out as planned though. Yoshiko didn't want to team up with anyone as she was wary about betrayal... which was quite smart of her.

 

But things not going exactly as planned was okay, teaming up with Mari wasn't bad. She loved spending time with Mari and Mari made her feel... accepted.

Having spent a lot of time together with the blonde during Guilty Kiss and Hurricane Blossom subunit practices, she had felt more bonded with her.

And the fact that the Mari loved to grope girl's chest... made her suspect that she may be into yuri too. But she had been too scared to reveal her secret, so she never asked.

 

When she finally confirmed that Mari had the same interest as her during the survival game, she had felt really happy and accepted.

So when Chika approached them and tried to kill her, she wanted to stop her because she didn't want to "die" so soon.

It was part of her plan to fake her death some point in the game, but she had wanted to spend more time with Mari and have fun with everyone before she had to go.

But when Chika got the better of her, she decided to go with the flow and fake her death right then. She was sorry to leave Mari alone, but she would soon join her when she had made sure all the Aqours members had died. And even if she herself really died, the Kurosawa secret agents would make sure they all died and they would be together in death.

They would all forever be together, one way or another.

 

As the stab wound on Riko's stomach slowly healed itself, Riko made her way to the control room. She knew the procedures to get past the mist to the outside world.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dia moved slightly, dazed in her sleep. A bug was flying around and bugging her.

"Ughh just let me die in peace... I’m Kurosawa Dia-"

She tried to swipe the bug away, but it didn't leave her alone and eventually she just got up from her lying down position.

"Ugh fine! I'm awake now! Go away bug!" She awoke, frustrated.

Then, she realised...

"Wait a second. ....I thought I died?"

She moved her hands to check her body to see if she was legit physically there, and she was. She touched her neck where she had thought Yoshiko's Kunai had strike her, but it was unharmed.

"I'm... ALIVE???!!"

Dia was shocked. How could she still be alive?! She clearly remembered how she died and it felt so real!

And yet here she was, fully intact and a hundred percent unharmed.

...What??!!

Dia thought seriously for a few moments but after not being able to come up with any conclusions, she decided she should just figure out what to do now.

 

Right now, she was still in the forest, stuck in this survival game.

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, so she decided she should figure out what had happened while she was knocked out.

Ruby.

She had to find Ruby.

She looked around her and found that she was not at the place where she had found Ruby.

If she had not been unconscious for too long, she should be near the place where she found Ruby.

She walked around and eventually found the thorn made cage Ruby was in.

...But it was empty, and there was a hole dug from the inside of cage which led to the outside.

So Ruby had managed to escape...

...

...It had been surprisingly quiet thus far and she had not met anyone else.

...Could it be that the remaining surviving Aqours members had found their way out of the game?

...There was only one way to find out.

 

After a long route, Dia reached the place where she had found the mysterious misty place.

She surprisingly found that there wasn't any mist there at all.

...There was only one reason for that.

.....The game had ended, and no one was left in the survivor game.

....Was Ruby the survivor?

Did she made it all the way to the end, or was she... killed?

She begun to worry.

She had to know what happened to her little sister and what was happening right now.

It seemed she had missed a lot while she was unconscious.

 

She continued to walk and made it outside the forest.

Once there, she saw buildings that were familiar to her.

...The buildings near Uranohoshi Girl's High, the school that she and the Aqours members went to...!

Just then, she heard the call of distress from Ruby in her head.

"Big sister... please... help...!"

...Ruby was still in trouble?!

If her voice sounded loud here, that meant she must be close...!

Maybe in one of those buildings...

Cautiously, she walked in.

The building was dark and looked abandoned.

She looked into a few rooms.

They were empty, and looked as if they were still under construction.

There didn’t seem to be anything significant inside.

She decided to make her way upstairs.

 

She cautiously walked up the stairs.

The support she was holding on to felt dusty.

.....If Ruby was still calling out to her, it meant that she was the last survivor...

...But why would Ruby be in a place like this?

....Had she been brought here by someone?

Dia walked on with determination.

She needed to get answers.

Ruby... Ruby... please be alright.

Then, she saw a blue light on the floor in the midst of the darkness of the building.

It was coming from one of the rooms.

She slowly approached it and peered inside.

She saw a dark figure sitting in front of multiple blue screens.

Dia was about to trace back her steps to think about what to do next but a voice called out to her.

A voice she was familiar with.

"So I see you're still alive... Kurosawa Dia."

The dark figure turned from looking at the screens to face her.

And that's when she saw...

Sakurauchi Riko.

"Ri-Riko??!!!"

Dia busted into the room without thinking.

"It's been a long time, my good friend~" Riko smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, Riko's motive for being the Mastermind ;) There's still other questions to answer and Ruby's reason but we'll get there soon~
> 
> So about the suspects you guys had;;  
> tbh any of them could have been the mastermind if a reason could have been thought for them XD But I've already built up to have Riko as mastermind so I'm sticking with the plan- (If not Riko really died early and had the least character development)
> 
> Tbh I thought I might've given it away due to Riko having so less screentime, dying so fast, and having no suspicions pointed at her, but I'm surprised not many got it XD I guess maybe I've made it too hard especially cause I made a lot of "distractions" to make ya'll cast your suspicions away from the real mastermind- but I don't think I would've wanted to make it easier because it wouldn't be fun otherwise~ 
> 
> For people who suspected Kotori or Maki, I can see why X'D I mentioned Music start which could imply that Muse might be involved- Kotori is really a mastermind material and Maki was in a family of doctors and I had mentioned drugs and Music Start was a Maki centered song;; but that would've been too obvious for a mastermind ;) 
> 
> Tbh by putting Music Start, I expected people to suspect Muse and probably the Aqours members who were close to Muse. Those members I was expecting were Dia, Ruby, Chika and perhaps Hanamaru- 
> 
> Dia wasn't that suspicious since she was literally the main character, but could still be possible if like maybe Dia forgot that she was mastermind X'D
> 
> For Ruby, she had so less point of views and was literally stuck in a cage throughout, so I did felt like she would be easiest to figure out especially since people say, "it’s always the most innocent ones" XD
> 
> Chika literally went crazy in the story much like You which would've made them less suspicious- but it’s not impossible for them to be mastermind because hey why not a mastermind who had lost their mind during their own game ;)
> 
> As for Hanamaru, that's really interesting- The mastermind hadn't said "zura" at all during the scene so I was surprised some of you would still suspect Hanamaru- I can see why though since you didn't really see Hanamaru going through the waking up and finding out about things procedure like Mari and Dia did e.g.  
> Hanamaru could be a possible Mastermind though if Hanamaru could somehow controlled when she uttered "zura" ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Mari- The disappearance of Mari's body was a "distraction" for ya'll to suspect Mari, but also a built up to something else I want to reveal soon ;) I can see why people would suspect Mari because Mari is Mastermind material and especially how the "Mastermind voice" sounded so cheerful X'D But hehe the Mastermind wasn't doing everything by herself~
> 
> Saint Snow- It's not impossible, after all, they're literally Aqours rivals and what if they acted like they forgave Aqours but they actually didn't? Or what if they went through something that made them really want to eliminate all their rivals? ;)
> 
> Tsuki- I'm not sure whether this was meant to be a joke or not but it’s possible if Tsuki thought Aqours was harmful to You or something;; However, I had planned this story before watching the Love Live Over the Rainbow story so I didn't know Tsuki then-
> 
> I'm kinda surprised no one suspected Kanan because she didn't go through the waking up and finding out about things procedure like Dia or Mari XD Like who knows she could've wanted to kill everyone to keep Hanamaru all for herself ;)
> 
> And that were my thoughts about the suspects- XD Tbh anyone could've been possible if I had wanted the story to go that way and had a reason for them so in a way no one is really wrong ;) 
> 
> Thank you once again for taking the time to read this AU and I hope to finish up the next few chapters and conclude it soon~  
> Right now I'm unsure about my schedule so I'm changing it to post whenever I finish it-  
> But I hope this had been a satisfying chapter and hopefully the next few chapters would be enjoyable too~ I'll see you guys next time! ^^


	13. Thank You FRIENDS!!

"So... it was you all along??!! Why... WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS??!!" Dia lost her composure. She couldn't believe someone she's been friends with and performed with could have been behind all this.

 

Just then, Dia noticed something about Riko. She was dressed up in a white shirt and had her hair tied in a bun. So she had been here for quite a while now... probably ever since her "death" announcement.

 

...She had said that she was going to make the mastermind pay when she found out who she was, and she wasn't going to back out now.

 

"AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH~ Yep! That's right, I'm the mastermind~ What did you think of my little game, Dia~? Did you have fun~?"

 

"OF COURSE NOT!! WHAT KIND OF A SICK PERSON WOULD ENJOY SOMETHING LIKE THIS??!!"

 

"HEHEHEHEHE ohhh that's too bad~ And here I thought my gift for my beloved friends would make them all happy... that makes me so sad..." Riko faked a sad smile.

 

Then, she fumbled with something in her hand...

 

....M-Mari's dead body??!!

 

Dia bit her lip.

 

"But really... All I wanted was to have fun with you all, all my friends..."

Riko said as she placed her head against Mari's lifeless head.

"And to be together with you all... forever.... in this never ending stage."

 

Dia struggled to hold herself back. Her lips started to bleed as she bit it down harder to maintain her composure.

 

She had to avenge Mari! She had to avenge everyone who died! She had to... but she also knew that it was important to keep calm, if she wanted to win a fight with Riko.

 

Anything could happen, especially in the place of the mastermind.

She had to keep a look out for anything dangerous, and be prepared for it.

 

...She spotted a bow and arrows next to Riko.

That must be her weapon.

Dia held her dagger tightly in her hand.

 

"You were all going to graduate, and I couldn't let that happen, could I? It's a long story really... but all I wanted to achieve with all this... was to be eternal friends with you all forever. HAHHAHAHAHAAH what can I say?? THANK YOU FRIENDS!!"

 

 

Riko quickly grabbed her bow and arrows.

 

"It's been fun playing this game with you Dia, let's continue playing it in another land, a land where the whole of Aqours would never be separated~!"

 

Riko shot a fury of arrows at Dia.

Dia dodged n tried to get close to Riko.

Riko moved swiftly to the side and shot more arrows.

She's fast!

It cut Dia on the cheek.

She's really skilled with her weapon-

In that case-

As Riko begun moving to her next position, Dia jumped at her and pinned Riko's hands down.

Got her!

Riko was moving constantly, which made her a hard target, so Dia had thought about the next position Riko would run to, which she guessed was her back since it was where she was most vulnerable.

It had been a hunch, but she was right!

Now to end this...!

 

Dia disarmed Riko, and held her hands down with one hand.

She moved her other hand which was holding her dagger to face Riko's neck.

 

"Checkmate, Sakurauchi Riko." Dia smiled.

"Now, you will pay for all you've done!"

 

"...Are you really sure about that, Dia?" Riko smirked.

 

"...What do you mean?" Dia frowned.

 

"Do you really think killing me would end all this? Do you really think it's worth it? Aren't you just like me? Killing for your own selfishness? Killing because... you love your friends soooo much~"

 

"Stop manipulating me with your words! I'm not like you! You deserve to die! If you lived on, you would continue harming everyone! I'm doing justice!"

 

"My, my, that's what they all say~ But really, killing for any type of reason... is still a sin isn't it? ...Did you really think it would be that easy to kill me? I was just playing around with you, you know~ Hehe~ Charging in unprepared to an enemy's territory... was unwise of you. And..." Riko looked away, still smirking.

"Do you really think it would all be over after you killed me? Like...let's see... do you know where your little sister is...?"

 

Dia's grip on Riko tightened.

 

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LITTLE SISTER??!! WHERE IS SHE!!"

 

"HHAHAHAHAHAH, calm down~ I didn't do anything to her~ Rather, she decided everything by herself..." Riko turned back to face Dia and tilted her head to look behind her. "Isn't that right, Kurosawa Ruby?"

 

"...Yes, I did." Ruby murmured.

"RUBY??!!"

 

Dia lost her grip on Riko on impulse, as she turned back to face Ruby.

Ruby was wearing a white dress, and her hair was tied into twin buns.

She started walking towards Ruby.

"Ruby! What are you doing here? I'm so glad you're safe!! I was so worried about you- Go on, go run somewhere safe and I'd join you soon after! I'll deal with Riko myself!"

Dia reached Ruby and patted her head.

 

"Big sister..." Ruby didn't look at Dia.

"Don't worry, everything is fine now, we'll be safe from now on... just go, Ruby." Dia whispered softly.

"...Big sister... I'm sorry... I can't."

"...What...what do you mean...?" Dia looked shocked.

"...I have to kill you big sister."

"...Ruby... what are you saying? Haha... this isn't a time to joke around like that...!" Dia laughed uneasily.

"I'm serious, big sister. ...I'm... the mastermind's partner."

"...Wha... when..."

 

Just then, Dia's telepathic scream started again.

"Big sister... big sister... help...!"

 

...

....

 

"...Then... Ruby... why are you still calling for help?" Dia questioned.

 

 

"Enough talking, it's time to finish this!"

 

Just then, Riko shot an arrow towards Dia.

Dia turned from Riko's voice in surprise, and the arrow landed on Dia's arm.

 

Shoot! She had had her guard down right after Ruby appeared...!

Blood dripped from Dia's wounded arm.

This is bad...! She had to do something...! But what could she do...?

 

Just then, she felt herself being grabbed.

Riko had grabbed her arms from behind...!

 

"Do it, Ruby." Riko smirked.

 

Ruby drew closer to Dia, holding up a syringe.

 

"I'm sorry big sister... but... this is the only way..."

"Ruby!! What are you doing??!!"

 

Ruby walked closer.

...and closer.

 

But just before she reached her,

Smoke surrounded the area!

 

"What??!!" Riko coughed.

Dia felt someone grabbing her but before she could utter a word, her captor placed their hand on her mouth.

 

 

 

As the smoke cleared, Riko looked around.

Dia was gone.

"Oh well, looks like she got away huh? Well, that's okay~ She wouldn't last long out there with that injury of hers anyway! Ehe~" Riko shrugged.

"Guess we'd have to wait before we collect her body huh? That said... we're still missing some bodies huh? I wonder what happened to them...?"

 

Riko approached her chair and caressed Mari's face.

Ruby looked on uneasily.

 

"Ehe~ That's okay... soon we'd have everyone's body here... and we'd then be forever together."

 

Riko hugged Mari's dead body.

 

"Ehehehe~ I love you all so much...~"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Opf, it’s been a while since I've been in a drawing mood ^^"
> 
> This chapter's quite short after all the long chapters- But I think the next few chapters are going to be quite short too since the story is ending soon XD (I haven't planned out how to write the conclusion but the survival game arc has 2chapters left;; like I have the conclusion but not how many chapters I’d take to write it-)
> 
> Thank you for being patient with the updates >< I'm definitely going to finish this because I've made it so far and really want to finish a story for once-  
> Writing is not my main hobby and I have other hobbies which take up my time ^^"
> 
> About other hobbies, drawing is my main hobby and I've drawn the clothes and hairstyle designs for the Aqours members before I wrote this! ^^  
> They can be seen here, on my instagram, riria_beam, https://www.instagram.com/p/By5a5RPBOSK/?igshid=8rm16pykpf2l
> 
> I also have a poster for this AU which can be viewed here: http://fav.me/dd8ot70
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter XD I love writing psycho thoughts so much X'DD hahahahah my mind's messed up now bye (but I still crave for more of these kinda storylines HAHAHAH)


	14. Uncertainty

"Big sister... big sister... help..."

"It's all your fault Ruby." Dia spoke.

"...Big...sister...?" Ruby murmured in surprise.

"Why ever have you agreed to this...? ....Your big sister....will never be with you ever again."

Dia turned and walked away.

 

"Big sister!!! Nooo!!"

 

Ruby ran towards Dia, reaching out desperately with her hand.

But no matter how she tried, she could never reach her big sister.

And the figure of her big sister became smaller and smaller... until she faded into nothingness.

 

"BIG SISTER!!"

 

Ruby cried, as she woke up from her nightmare.

She had been having this nightmare for a few nights now.

 

They say dreams are a symbolism of what you may be feeling.

 

If that is so, this dream probably meant that she was afraid of letting her big sister go. 

...And her doubts of doing what she was doing right now.

 

 

......When Riko had approached her, she was so convincing that she had thought it was the best course of action.

After all, Riko understood how she felt.

 

She understood not wanting Aqours disband, and not wanting to part from anyone.

If she understood those feelings, then that must meant she knew best how to deal with them right?

Riko's older than she is after all, and seniors knew best what to do.

 

....But then why was she feeling like this when doing this then?

...It didn't feel right.

......Nothing feels right.

....She didn't know what to do anymore, and she couldn't turn back now.

And she just continued doing what she had agreed to do.

 

 

......Killing was bad, but is it really that bad if it could help her keep her big sister with her forever?

...She was nothing without her big sister.

....She couldn't do anything right.

......and her big sister was always there for her.

 

To not have her big sister anymore...

Was too much for her.

 

...

.....

 

....At least, that's what she thought until she saw her big sister die in front of her.

...what had she done...?

…..why didn't she go save her...?

 

........no, she had to continue what she was doing.

Because if she stopped...

It would've all been for nothing.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dia woke up in a daze.

She glimpse the sight of a familiar dark blue haired bun...

 

"AAAAAAHHHHH!! A HUGE MOVING BLUEBERRY!!!" Dia exclaimed half asleep.

 

"...Dia, literally. What. The. Hell. ...It's me, Yohane." Yoshiko spoke in a monotone voice as she continued bandaging Dia's arm.

 

Dia rubbed her eyes. 

"Oh. It's just you, Yoshiko."

 

"...Yohane." Yoshiko looked away with her usual unimpressed face.

 

"I didn't know you know first aid."

 

"Well, you'd have to know if you too, have immense bad luck and get hurt a lot. ...Really, I fall down a lot so I bring plasters everywhere I go."

 

"...That sounds tough."

 

"...You don't have to feel bad for me. After all, life has a balance of good and bad luck. One can't exist without the other. It is inevitable that some people will have better luck than others. If I think of it this way, it means I'm helping others in a way. I'm helping to reduce the bad luck in the world by embracing it to myself. People will have more good luck, and they will be happier."

 

After a moment's silence hearing the speech, Dia spoke.

"...That's... surprisingly deep, coming from you."

 

"Humph." Yoshiko grunted, as she finished bandaging Dia's arm.

 

"Better be careful with that arm for now. Don't make my efforts go to waste."

 

"...Right. ....Thank you." Dia murmured sheepishly.

 

Yoshiko sat back and held her legs with her hands. She looked away from Dia.

A moment of awkward silence filled the room.

 

 

Dia looked around the room.

It was dark and gloomy.

Strands of wires could be seen off random boards.

It seemed like they were in an abandoned room.

 

 

Dia shifted her legs uneasily.

This was awkward.

 

...not that she hadn't been through this before.

In fact, it was quite common.

…But it never failed to unnerve her.

She should try to break the silence.

 

 

 

"So... I thought I died...? How is it that I'm still alive? Didn't you threw a kunai at me...?" Dia murmured.

 

Yoshiko stared silently at Dia for a few moments.

"...That was an illusion."

 

"...illusion?"

 

"...Yes, it runs in the Tsushima family. We have the power to make illusions through a certain method."

 

"Wow...! Ahem. I mean. I see. An illusion." Dia attempted to stay calm and mature, though she really felt impressed. 

She touched her chin with a finger, thinking for a bit.

 

".......So why did you save me? You didn't save anyone else."

 

"Tsk. What a way to guilt trip me"

 

"T-That's not what I meant-"

 

"I was joking. I just didn't trust anyone enough to save them. And I wasn't there at the place where they needed saving. I could trust you because you're honestly... too much of a dork to be the mastermind. ...You tripped on a rock during our battle. The mastermind wouldn't be so careless."

 

"...Humpt. ...I don't want to hear that from someone who trips and falls down constantly every day." Dia retorted embarrassedly.

 

"Humpt." 

 

 

Another moment of awkward silence filled the room.

Yoshiko got up and went for her bag which she had placed at a corner.

Dia shifted her legs uneasily once again.

 

"So... What are we going to do about... Riko?" She attempted to break the silence.

 

"...You want to do something about Riko in the state you're in? Just give it a break." Yoshiko turned around to look at Dia, as she picked up her bag.

 

"If we don't do something now, she may start something harmful again!"

 

"Relax. She's probably just looking for our bodies right now. I was there when you entered the control room, and heard the whole conversation. From what I can infer, she really wants to have us all to herself badly, especially because she held Mari's body all to herself." Yoshiko replied nonchalantly, as she took out her phone from her bag.

 

She started looking through her phone.

 

"...That's true. ...She's really... messed up in the head right now. ......Wait. You said you were there, but where were you hiding? I didn't notice your presence at all, and Riko didn't seem to notice you either even though she had a whole control room filled with screens to check!"

 

"Kukuku. You can always trust the fallen angel to find shady spots to hide in. Of course, I figured the air vents of the building would not be under surveillance, so it would be a good spot to hide in."

Yoshiko did her trade mark fallen angel pose with her phone in hand, and her cape fluttered after her.

 

"...That's surprisingly smart of you." Dia blurted out.

 

"Tsk, how rude! Who do you think I am??!!" Yoshiko spat.

 

"...Sorry. It's just, I've never seen this side of you before. You always acted... strangely during our club activities." Dia admitted feeling slightly ashamed.

 

"W-Well, now you know! This fallen angel is the smartest girl on earth alright!" 

 

Dia tried to muffle her giggle. "Right."

 

"Stop laughing at me!"

 

"I'm not laughing." Dia calmed down.

 

"Humpt." Yoshiko responded as she turned away from Dia and continued fumbling on her phone.

 

It seemed she was engrossed in something.

...Maybe Yoshiko had already planned out how they should handle their current situation...?

Perhaps she should ask about it.

 

 

"So... You seem to have something in mind. Perhaps you have already planned about what we are going to do next?" Dia started.

 

"We?" Yoshiko turned her head away from her phone to face Dia, her eyes slitted.

 

"Yes. We. What's wrong?" Dia inquired.

 

"...I never said I was going to work with you." Yoshiko stated bluntly.

 

Dia furrowed her eyebrows, "...And you're going to put an end to this all by yourself, while you're probably too worn out to do so?"

 

"...I can do it by myself." Yoshiko said flatly as she went back to typing on her phone.

 

"But teaming up would be a better option right now. Looking at our circumstances, we're both no match for our enemy right now. I'd normally like to work alone, but I do think teamwork is a better option at the moment." 

 

"...I don't like working with others. ...I do things better by myself. You don't have to worry about anything." Yoshiko stated adamantly.

 

...It seemed that Yoshiko refused to change her mind.

....She needed a plan so that things would turn out well when they confront their enemies.

Was there something she could do to get Yoshiko to work with her?

Or maybe another option?

Dia went deep into thought as she continued observing Yoshiko.

 

 

The day continued on in a long awkward silence.

Yoshiko continued fumbling with her phone, while Dia rested, occasionally observing Yoshiko.

And eventually, night fell.

The two, despite being unable to sleep due to having their minds occupied, eventually slipped off into an uneasy slumber, anticipating the dreadful day that's inevitable to come.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while again- Tbh had this chapter done a week ago(?) but left it lying around because I still had to look through it and fix it etc.  
> I had too much dialogue at the end at first and it looked like a script instead of a story X'D Added actions in to fix that-  
> Next chapter is finally the end of the survival game arc and tbh I still haven't planned out how to write the conclusion that comes after that- Like I have the idea of what to write but not how to go about it so that's gonna take some time TT  
> Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait~ I really enjoyed writing the YohaDia moment here XD Rarepairs are great~


	15. Never Ending Ver.

Typing sounds filled the room.

"Humm I wonder what our next plan for our next game should be~" Riko hummed cheerfully.

 

Ruby looked on uneasily. What was Riko planning...? Isn't the game over already...?

 

"You know... Maybe if we included the Muse members in our happy life, wouldn't all our friends be happier? Hehe~" Riko's lips curled into a wide smirk.

 

Ruby shuddered at the thought. Another survival game... more deaths.

She couldn't do this anymore.

She really shouldn't...

...But what could she do...?

 

Just then, Ruby heard a strange sound.

She noticed a strange red electric current moving around Riko for a second.

...What was that...?

 

This had not happened to Riko before.

Something was really off right now...

She noticed a flash of red electricity at the corner of her eye.

She darted her eyes to the side.

There, she noticed a device placed near Riko.

It looked round with a red light emitting from its core. It was encircled with a metallic casing.

 

Riko turned around and looked at Ruby.

"My Ruby... you seem concerned. What could you be worrying about~?"

 

Ruby shook the uneasy look off her face and mustered her best smile.

"Ah- No, Nothing! I was just... worried that our next survival game wouldn't go well. Y-You know... how the Muse girls are so smart and everything? Haha..." Ruby replied as she waved both her hands in front of her.

 

"Aww Ruby~ It's good that you're so invested in our next plan to be worried about that already~ But really... you have nothing to worry about~ I'll make sure it goes well, no matter what~ Hehehe~" Riko turned back to continue typing on the keyboard.

It seemed she already had something in mind...

 

 

 

Ruby shifted her leg slightly.

She should stop Riko.

She really should.

But is that really the right thing to do? Doesn't Riko know best since she's her senior?

...And...

...If she did listen to her inner voice, everything she had done till now...

Would’ve been for nothing.

...

...She can't trust herself.

....Nothing ever goes well when she trusted herself.

.......Suddenly, the memory of her teaming up with Leah to sing "Awaken the Power", to show their sisters they could do things by themselves, flashed in her mind.

....They had messed up the live show then, and in the end, their sisters comforted them...

...She had tried so hard to keep the memory locked away, but why was it suddenly rushing back, so vividly, into her mind now...?

...She thought back on how unsure and uncertain she had felt all this while after that incident.

...

....

....Ah... that's right. Even if she had stopped thinking about it all this while... the feelings of that incident were always lingering in her mind.

...making her doubt herself again and again.

....and think about how trying would all end in failure again...

Ruby shook her head to clear her thoughts.

....No...Never again.

...She needed someone to rely on.

.....She had to trust in Riko.

...All the way till the end.

 

 

 

Just then, smoke appeared.

 

"Piggi!!" Ruby squealed as she felt herself being pushed from behind.

 

Before long, the smoke cleared and she found herself tied back to back to Riko.

 

"Well, well, if it isn't Tsushima Yoshiko~ I knew it was you the moment smoke appeared." Riko spoke.

 

Yoshiko's cape fluttered behind her as she stood in front of her two hostages. She had planned to tie both Riko and Ruby up first before she finished them off so that they wouldn't be able to fight back.

 

"You can't plan anything now that you're immobile! Give it up!" Yoshiko moved closer to Riko and Ruby with her kunai in hand.

 

"Oh, really~? Do you really think so~?" Riko smirked as she looked towards her side.

 

Suddenly, two Kurosawa agents appeared and grabbed Yoshiko from behind.

 

"Who’s the one who can't move now, Yoshiko~?"

 

"I'm not done yet!" Yoshiko smiled, as she murmured a chant, with a tarot card in her hand. She had expected something like this! So it's time for her illusion move!

 

 

 

Riko blinked her eyes.

Suddenly everyone was dancing like a monkey.

What was going on?!

 

"You! Stop fooling around and start doing what you were ordered to do!" Riko commanded the Kurosawa agents, who now had their hands off Yoshiko.

 

"Me?! You're the one fooling around, game master! What are you even doing dancing while tied up?!"

 

...Dancing... while tied up?

 

After a few moment of thought, Riko came to a realisation.

All of this she was seeing right now... wasn't real!

 

"Kukukukuku, so I see you've figured it out, eh Riko?" Yoshiko spoke, smirking. She was the only one not dancing. "What are you going to do about it then?"

 

Riko clutched her teeth.

Tsk! What a troublesome girl- She should've finish her off before the game... But she had underestimated her.

She had known that Yoshiko was good with technology so she had put in some measures to prevent her from hacking but somehow Yoshiko had still found a way to hack... and she didn't know Yoshiko had an illusion ability!

She had to set things back on the right track.

 

Riko pressed a button on a device she had been holding in her hand.

Spike traps activated, and the spikes shot out to cut Riko and Ruby's ropes, and slashed Yoshiko.

 

Riko smirked as Yoshiko bled from the spikes.

...Suddenly, Yoshiko disappeared!

 

...What...?

 

Now there was more than one Yoshiko!

 

Was the illusion not over yet??!!

 

"Hahahaha, it's not going to be that easy, Riko!" Yoshiko's voice echoed the room.

 

Darn! Riko grabbed her bow and arrows from under the control table and started shooting all the Yoshikos.

All the Yoshikos faded after being shot, signifying that none of them were the real ones.

 

...Where was the real Yoshiko?!

 

Then, Riko felt a sudden gush of air from the top, and saw Yoshiko diving down to slash her with her kunai.

Riko dodged swiftly to the side, but she could not completely evade the attack on time.

Her side started bleeding from the slash of the Kunai.

 

Riko groaned in agitation, and took the leaf shaped golden hairclip she had been wearing throughout the survival game from behind the flower pin she was wearing at the moment.

She dashed forward and sliced Yoshiko's neck with the sharp end of the clip.

 

Got her! ...No... This feels too easy!

 

Riko darted her eyes to the side.

Yoshiko had appeared behind the Kurosawa agents, who were still running towards where Yoshiko was last seen.

The previous Yoshiko she had slashed was also an illusion!

 

Blood gushed out from both the Kurosawa agents' necks as Yoshiko sliced them with her kunai.

 

 

 

Suddenly, Yoshiko felt a hard push from behind her and fell to the ground.

Immediately after, she felt a sharp prick on her skin.

 

Yoshiko looked behind her and caught a glimpse of red twinbuned hair and a syringe.

 

Ruby...! She must've used her whole body weight to push her...!

...And she had injected her with poison!

 

Yoshiko started to feel weak.

 

Crap!

 

She pushed Ruby off her with all her strength.

Glass shattering sounds were heard as the syringe broke upon hitting the floor.

 

 

 

Riko smiled as Yoshiko staggered from pushing off Ruby.

 

"Well done, Ruby~ I knew I could trust you~" Riko started as she walked towards Yoshiko with her bow and arrows.

 

"My, my Yoshiko... what's wrong? Are you alright?" Riko spoke nonchalantly.

 

Yoshiko struggled to hold her position as she felt even dizzier.

 

"It's okay, you can tell your dear friend Riko aaaaalll about it, and she'll help you feel better immediately~" Riko continued as she pointed her arrow at Yoshiko.

 

Yoshiko fought against her dizziness and tried to attack Riko but she missed as her vision blurred in that moment.

 

"It's no use, Yoshiko~ You're too weak to fight now. Why don't you just sit back and relax while I help save you from your suffering? It'd alright~ Soon, you and I and the rest of Aqours will be happily together forever after...~" Riko grinned as she pulled the string of her bow back, preparing to shoot.

 

 

 

Just then, Riko's bow snapped into two from a sudden impact!

 

"What??!!" Riko exclaimed, surprised.

 

She directed her gaze towards the source of attack, and there stood the black haired girl, Dia Kurosawa.

 

Riko glared at Dia, feeling infuriated.

 

"D...Dia...? Wait! What are you doing here?!" Yoshiko exclaimed as she begun to recognise the familiar figure through her blurred vision.

 

"Heheh, consider this as paying you back for saving my life two times!" Dia grinned.

 

Yoshiko smiled, then she quickly turned her head to look away, and pouted. "It's only because I was sure you weren't the mastermind!"

 

She gets up to fight with Dia.

 

"Hah! You think you can still fight, Yoshiko? The poison will be in full effect soon and you won't be able to move! We technically only have to deal with Dia now~" Riko snickered.

 

Two figures appeared from behind Riko.

...The Kurosawa Agents!

Ruby followed right after.

They surrounded Yoshiko and Dia.

 

Darn it! Weren't their necks already slashed??!!

Yoshiko thought, as she glanced towards Ruby.

 

Ruby was throwing away some little packets she had in hand onto the floor.

...She must've given the Kurosawa Agents some medicine that healed their cut wounds...!

 

 

 

"I'm sorry for not coming earlier, Yoshiko. I had looked through your plans written on your phone last night while you weren't looking and knew of your plans. You were planning on a prolonged illusion attack to end things at the start right? ...You must feel really weak now that you've used that attack and been poisoned." Dia spoke.

 

...It was true. Creating an illusion was already tiring enough, and having a prolonged one would leave her with little stamina left. It was a risk she knew and took.

 

"I decided not to intervene at the start as it would be unwise to do so, not knowing which was the real you." Dia continued, "And honestly... I don't really understand fallen angel language so I didn't exactly knew how it would all go about..." Dia added the last line softly under her breath.

 

"Humpt, it doesn't matter as long as you're here now! ...And... I guess I had been too overconfident in myself and I should've trusted you more." Yoshiko admitted.

 

"Are you two done with your final words yet? I'm getting impatient~ Agents! Get them!" Riko commanded.

 

 

 

The Kurosawa Agents dashed towards Yoshiko and Dia with their knifes.

Dia and Yoshiko deflected their knife attacks with their dagger and kunai.

 

The Kurosawa Agents moves were fast...!

...They were really living up to their roles, especially after having many years of training!

 

Dia sneaked a glance at Yoshiko. She was beginning to struggle to catch up with the speed.

She had to end this fast.

...She just had to use that move...!

No matter how experienced or talented you are... there's always a weak spot!

And having seen the Kurosawa Agents trained once herself... she knew she just had to do that certain move their coach used...!

 

The Kurosawa Agents continued to fight relentlessly.

 

An opening... just a slight opening would do...!

 

Then, Dia saw it!

 

As the Kurosawa agents prepared just a second later for their slash, Dia swiftly knocked both the Kurosawa Agent's stomachs with her knee and elbow.

Immediately after, she gave them a blow to the back of their necks with her arm.

The Kurosawa Agents fell to the floor with a thud.

 

That should do it!

 

Yoshiko looked at Dia, impressed.

Dia gave her a grin.

 

 

Just then, Riko dived in to slash Dia with her leaf shaped hairclip.

Dia dodged.

 

"You missed!"

 

"Really? Think again." Riko smiled.

 

Just then, Dia started to feel dizzy.

 

Wha...?

 

Then, she saw a tiny cut on her arm.

 

...She got poisoned??!! From just a tiny cut??!!

 

Dia placed her hand to the floor, supporting herself.

 

 

 

Ruby was standing at the corner of her eye with a poison glass in her hand.

 

Riko stood next to her and looked down at Dia. "I tipped my hairclip with poison before slashing you. It looks like this is the end~ Checkmate, Kurosawa Dia."

 

Dia glanced from Riko to Ruby.

The feelings of betrayal started to boil up in her body.

 

"I'm sorry big sister. It's okay, after all this is over, we'd finally be together forever. We won't have to keep fighting anymore. I promise, all this will be over soon." Ruby whispered.

 

...What kind of reason is that...? Why are you even doing this in the first place, Ruby...? Argh, Riko must've brainwashed her! She was sure...! Her little sister would never choose to do such a thing herself...!

 

Dia denied the truth before her eyes, and stoned her heart.

No! Now's not the time to get agitated! She had to stay calm and fight on.

 

Things were looking bad.

They were both poisoned, and they needed an antidote as soon as possible, if they wanted to turn the tables around.

 

Now that the Kurosawa Agents were taken down, it was a good time to get it.

 

There must be one somewhere in this room, a precaution for the mastermind if she ever poisoned herself or her comrades.

 

 

 

Yoshiko seemed to have read Dia's mind.

 

"Dia, keep Riko and Ruby at bay! I'd get the antidote!"

 

Dia continued to fight Riko and Ruby while Yoshiko dashed straight towards the place where she was certain the antidote would be.

 

She had seen Ruby going in this certain direction during the fight, though she couldn't focus on her fully due to being occupied with the fight.

 

It's got to be here somewhere...

 

Yoshiko looked around and noticed a slight discolour in the surroundings.

She walked towards it and found a hidden compartment in the floor, opened!

So this was where they hid all the poison, so as not to let anyone accidentally break it...!

 

Yoshiko shuffled through the items and found a chest labelled "antidote"

She spotted an electronic screen and a button beside it on the chest.

She pressed the button.

The screen brightened up and showed "Input Password"

 

Darn! So they were prepared enough to even have a password set on the chest!

Crap, what could the password be? She was running out of time!

 

Alright, calm down.

If it was a digital input, it meant that there was a way she could hack it.

...She just needed some time...!

 

 

"...Are you looking for something, Yoshiko?"

 

Yoshiko jolted away in surprise.

...Ruby??!!

 

Ruby threw shards of glass towards Yoshiko with gloved hands.

Yoshiko managed to turn to her back in time, and the shards hit her cape, lightening the damage.

But just then, Ruby dove in and pulled on Yoshiko's cape, making her fall.

Ruby then fell to Yoshiko's level and held onto Yoshiko’s neck tightly.

 

...Losing... breath...!

 

Yoshiko fought to throw Ruby off, but her stamina was really low now after the prolonged illusion and poison...!

Yoshiko glanced towards the side and caught a glimpse of Dia trying to hold Riko down, but she was about to lose her stance.

 

...She had to do something about this situation...!

...If she couldn't get the antidote, and if she was going to die anyway... then she better go all out, and take Riko and Ruby with her...!

 

With a last desperate attempt, she chanted while touching a tarot card in her pocket.

Yoshiko felt Ruby's grip loosen as surprise filled Ruby's eyes.

 

Her illusion was working...!

 

Yoshiko pushed Ruby off her and pulled her towards Riko.

She quickly used her cape to tie both Riko and Ruby and held them down with all her remaining strength.

She felt the sensation of the illusion fading away as it ended, and coughed out blood as she exclaimed to Dia, "Dia! Finish it!"

 

 

 

Dia saw how worn out Yoshiko was.

 

...Yoshiko was overexerting herself...!

She had to end this quick.

 

Dia walked towards Riko and Ruby and then faced them with murderous eyes.

It hurt her to have to kill her sister, but she had to do it.

 

Dia was preparing to swing her dagger down when Riko spoke.

 

"Oh, it's okay if we died. That was the intention in the end anyway. We'd just have to bring you down with us." Riko smiled as she pressed a button in her hand.

 

Loud booming noises sounded from the distance and slowly started to get louder.

The room begun shaking and debris started falling from the ceiling.

 

The building was about to collapse...!

Riko had activated bomb traps all around the building...!

 

"Well, this is the end of our fun little game! Let's all go to some place happier where we can be together forever! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Riko laughed hysterically.

 

Dia and Yoshiko stood rooted to the ground, not knowing how to react to the situation, and the building crumbled down and fell onto the four girls in the room.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

As the collapse finished, and the dust faded away, a twintailed purple haired girl walked in.

She looked around and spotted four dead bodies under a mountain of bricks.

 

She turned her gaze away from them and soon found her attention being drawn to a shiny red ray of light emitting under another pile of bricks.

She walked towards the source of light, moved the bricks on top of the object, and picked up the item where the light was emitting from.

 

It was a rounded object encircled with a metallic casing, and red light was emitting from its core.

Sparks of red electricity begun dancing around the purple twintailed girl as she continued to hold the object.

 

The purple twintailed haired girl smiled, and she placed the item into her pocket.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s still more after this! (Maybe one or two chapters? :o)  
> There’s perhaps people who are still alive, and I’d let you guess who that is/who they are while waiting for the next chapter c;
> 
> I dragged finishing this chapter wayyy longer than expected >< Was stuck on writing this until I watched “Demon Slayer” and fight scenes from another anime recently which gave me ideas for this chapter!  
> I think I liked how it turned out uwu (Especially considering how I initially started writing the fight scene X’D It was literally a really funny fight which I ended up deleting as I felt it didn’t fit the mood of the story;;  
> I’d leave the deleted scene here, just for laughs XD:
> 
> Suddenly, two Kurosawa agents appeared and grabbed Yoshiko from behind.
> 
> "Who can't move now, Yoshiko~?" 
> 
> "I'm not done yet!" Yoshiko smiled, as she murmured a chant.
> 
>  
> 
> Riko blinked her eyes.
> 
> Suddenly, Yoshiko was out of the Kurosawa Agents' grips.
> 
> "What-" Riko uttered in surprise.
> 
> Then, Yoshiko was waving yuri mangas that were in her hand.
> 
> "Riko, if you gave up right now, you're free to have these. They are the most popular release from your favourite author."
> 
> "How did you-"  
> Riko looked at the titles
> 
> She started nosebleeding.  
> "I-I-Is this a joke?"
> 
> Suddenly, Mari's body started to move and responded to the question. "It's joke~!"
> 
> ...What?  
> What was going on??
> 
> Oh god. She's starting to lose composure.
> 
> ...And her long buried desire for yuri content is arising...!!
> 
> Yoshiko drew closer to her.  
> "Hey, Riko if you end everything now, you'd get all the yuri content you've ever wanted. Isn't a life where you can freely enjoy simple interests much better than one where you have to hide and worry about whether your plan would go well?"
> 
> Riko shuddered for a moment.  
> ...NO..!  
> This was all part of Yoshiko's plan to distract her!  
> What's most important were her friends!  
> It's more important than any other desires and leisure she loves!  
> And she had to do anything she could to protect them and the time they've spend till now;; she had to continue this time of fun and bond forever!


End file.
